CIVIL PARKING ENFORCEMENT (CPE)
Major changes in the way local authorities enforce parking are on the way as long-awaited Government regulations came into effect on the 31st March 2008.
Under the new regulations this activity became known as Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) and Parking Attendants became known as Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs).
The new regulations, which form Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004, are designed to make parking enforcement more motorist friendly and represent the most radical shake up of parking enforcement in England and Wales for many years. The new framework makes it clear that Local Authorities should not use parking enforcement as a tool for raising revenue, and should not set targets for the number of Penalty Charge Notices issued. Local Authorities are also encouraged to allow officers to use more discretion over when a Penalty Charge Notice is issued.
Local Authorities are able to issue lower penalties for less serious parking contraventions and will have to include details of procedures for appeals on Penalty Charge Notices. Independent parking adjudicators also get more power, including the right to ask Local Authorities to reconsider penalty charges where motorists have mitigating circumstances.
The regulations introduce new parking contraventions that will allow Local Authorities to issue Penalty Charge Notices to motorists that are double parked or parked across a dropped footway e.g. pedestrian crossing. In certain exceptional circumstances (where a Civil Enforcement Officer is threatened or subjected to violence or the vehicle is driven away) there will no longer be a need for a Penalty Charge Notice to be placed on a vehicle or handed to the driver in order for it to be properly served, as the new regulations allow the Penalty Charge Notice to be posted to the registered keeper of the vehicle.
What happened when the Traffic Management Act 2004 (TMA) came into force in England and Wales on 31st March 2008?
- Parking Attendants became known as Civil Enforcement Officers
- There is now two levels of Penalty Charges depending on the severity of contraventions, and a list of these appears below
- The higher band in WSCC is £70 (reduced to £35 if paid within 14 days)
- The lower band in WSCC is £50 (reduced to £25 if paid within 14 days)
- The increased rate, if paid late, is £105 for higher band contraventions and £75 for lower band contraventions
- Civil Enforcement Officers will be able to enforce double parking as well as parking across dropped footways. However, it should be noted that for the time being in West Sussex these powers will not be applied
- There is no longer a need for a Penalty Charge Notice to be placed on a vehicle, or handed to a driver in order for it to be properly served. If a Civil Enforcement Officer for whatever reason is unable to serve the Notice it may be posted to the registered keeper/owner of the vehicle. However, it should be noted that for the time being in West Sussex these powers will not be applied. Nor will the County Council be using CCTV to enforce illegal parking
- Local authorities will publish and promote their parking enforcement policies openly and clearly. They will also regularly appraise these policies and consult motorists and businesses to ensure the system is working
What are the objectives of Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE)?
There are three key objectives of CPE in West Sussex:
- To provide a single integrated parking service, combining on-street and off-street management and enforcement that will be accessible, at a local level within the districts and boroughs.
- To provide the effective enforcement of parking controls.
- To be self-financing with any surpluses arising from the enforcement regime used to improve parking facilities and approved transport and environmental improvement, within the District or Borough in which the surplus is accrued.