New laws urged as parking ticket numbers soar

New Bill aims to crack down on the private parking industry

The number of parking tickets handed out by private companies has soared, leading to support for new laws to end the industry’s self-regulation.

Some 1.74 million vehicle keeper records were obtained from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency by parking management firms between April and June, compared with 1.06 million in the same period last year.

Parking companies use the information to chase vehicle owners for alleged infringements in private car parks, sending penalty charges often up to £100.

With the data suggesting that tickets are being issued every 4.5 seconds, motoring research charity the RAC Foundation welcomed a Bill tabled by a Conservative MP to crack down on the private parking industry.

Sir Greg Knight’s private members’ Bill, which would lead to the introduction of a code of conduct for private car park operators, had its first reading in the House of Commons last week.

RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said: “These figures are a stark illustration of why Sir Greg’s Bill is so badly needed and if there is one piece of legislation which should command cross-party support it is this.

“Self-regulation of the private parking sector has not worked – even many of the big companies acknowledge that – and we are delighted Sir Greg Knight is coming to the rescue with a law that will create a single, binding code of conduct, something we have campaigned for over several years.”

Sir, - I, and I am sure many others, are in full agreement with the sentiments contained in the recent letters from Graham Watson of Scone and George Mailer of Auchterarder.

There is already the feeling that Perth, Scone, Kinross and others are fast becoming dormitory towns and villages or homes for the retired.

I would like to add one other point which always causes me some annoyance when I read it, and that is “the developer will make a substantial contribution towards the cost of much required educational or medical facilities” or words to that effect.

I am fairly sure that it is not the developer who makes the contribution in that it will be the first purchasers of the new houses as the cost of extra facilities will merely be added to, and included in, the purchase price. Developers are not known for their altruism as they exist to make profits.

For example, build 250 houses and add £1,000 to the real price and there you have £250,000 to contribute to the extra facilities.

It gets even better if you can get the contract to build the extra facility.

The building of a new town at Oudenarde with a proper infrastructure makes much more sense as it is close to the motorway system for the convenience of commuters.

It makes much more sense than the destruction of existing communities which is what is happening.

There must be areas of ground in the Gask region, again close to the motorway system, suitable for the development of a new town.

Picture: Steve Macdougall. A protest against proposed development in Scone at Perth and Kinross Council headquarters, High Street, Perth.