Allegations about parking are incorrect

10:40am Tuesday 4th December 2007

I am writing in response to recent articles and letters that have appeared in the Bolton News with regards to Bolton Councils parking enforcement system, and allegations made by Mr Barry Moss.

Mr Moss has pursued a campaign against the Council over technicalities relating to signage and road markings. This is a part of a campaign that has targeted several local authorities around the country.

To date Mr Moss has sent in 85 e-mails, made 30 requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act, and made numerous telephone calls. This has consumed a significant amount of officer time, that could have been better spent on other priorities. All of Mr Moss's complaints have been responded to, however I believe that his campaign has been disproportionate to the minor nature of most of his complaints.

The majority of residents and visitors to Bolton are able to identify what a parking bay is, and are not misled in any way because it may be an inch too long or an inch too small. The Council has always acted in good faith and believe that most people understand road markings and work within the system.

When the Council first became aware that some of its "lining" did not correspond with existing traffic regulation orders, it immediately took legal advice. The legal advice received has stated that the majority of claims made by Mr Moss are incorrect. However, changes have been made to a small number of bays where the points raised were valid, such as those around the civic centre. In my view, there was no option, given the legal advice, but to correct the bays in the interim in order to ensure we now comply with the legal requirements. The alternative would have been to have no enforcement regime whatsoever, thus making loading bays and disabled bays available for general parking. The Council also dispute claims that the newly painted markings are not legal. The Department for Transport has confirmed that the markings are valid.

The legal advice has also stated that an inconsistency in the marking of a parking bay does not mean it is unenforceable in law. The purpose of a parking bay is to draw the public's attention to a parking restriction. It is therefore ridiculous for Mr Moss to claim that people have suffered some kind of injustice by paying to use a parking bay that may not have been marked correctly, but clearly is a parking bay. Therefore, despite the misleading story that appeared in The Bolton News on the 14th November, the issue of potential refunds relates only to two bays - one in Le Mans Crescent outside the Central Library and one on Victoria Square North. Under the provisions of the law each claim for refund of parking charges or penalties must be dealt with on a case by case basis, and the council will, of course, be happy to do this on behalf of any customers who feel they may be entitled to make a claim.

For the long term provision of parking in Bolton Town Centre, the Council has, for some time, been undertaking a phased review of parking bays. As part of this work the council has been working on a new traffic order for the Civic Centre which would result in ten extra parking bays, eight of which will be for disabled drivers To conclude, allegations that pay and display markings in the town centre are illegal, are incorrect and misleading. The Councils parking enforcement system is legal, but we have responded to Mr Moss and are in the process of correcting any inaccurate linage that could still exist.

Councillor Nick Peel, Executive Member for Environmental Services