Parking Services

Annual parking enforcement report

September 2009

-1-
Table of Contents Page

1 Introduction

1.1 The purpose of this document 3

1.2 Two tier authority on-street agency agreement. 3

1.3 Objectives and challenges in relation to civil parking enforcement. 4

1.4 The parking enforcement operation 8

1.5 A note on the Council website 13

2 PCN challenge and appeals process

2.1 The challenge and appeal process 14

3 What’s new

3.1 The introduction of differential Penalty Charge Notice charging 16

3.2 New powers under Traffic Management Act 2004 (TMA 2004) 16

3.3 The car park modernisation programme 18

3.4 Car park zones and tariff structure 19

3.5 Changes to the Residents Parking Scheme 23

3.6 On street pay and display 27

4 Statistics

4.1 Recovery statistics 28

4.2 Financial 29

Glossary 30

-2-
1: Introduction

1.1 The purpose of this document.

In October 2002 the Secretary of State gave local authorities powers to

implement and operated decriminalised parking enforcement using the Road Traffic
Act 1991.

On 31st March 2008 part II and schedule 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1991(RTA 1991)
was replaced by part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 (TMA 2004).
A requirement of the new act requires that local authorities produce an annual report
on their enforcement activities.

This is the first report of its type produced by Chelmsford Borough Council (CBC)
and the report sets out to offer an overview in the following areas:

The parking enforcement operation and the role and responsibilities of CBC
and Essex County Council (ECC).

Objectives and challenges in relation to civil parking enforcement

Information regarding new powers since the implementation of TMA 2004

Various Statistics relating to the performance of the parking enforcement
operation.

The residents parking scheme and on-street pay and display

Improvements to town centre car parks

1.2 Two tier authorities and on-street agency agreement.

The TMA 2004 makes reference to powers given to the “enforcement authority”. The
enforcement authority is the authority that has sole responsibility and ownership for
the area to be enforced using the powers of the TMA 2004. Reference will be given to
the term on-street and off-street enforcement where on-street refers to the public
highway and off-street refers to public controlled car parks.

ECC is the highway authority and has responsibility for the public highway throughout
Essex and therefore is the enforcement authority for on-street enforcement. Through
agency agreements ECC have granted the local borough and district councils the
power to enforce the on-street operation on their behalf.

The agency agreement permits CBC on behalf of ECC to carry out assessments and
implement Traffic Regulation Orders (TRO’s), enforce all on street parking
restrictions and manage the resident parking scheme. This agreement is a financial non
deficit agreement.

The current agency agreement between CBC and ECC runs until March 31st 2011.

CBC own and control the public car parks within Chelmsford and is therefore the
enforcement authority in their own right regarding off-street enforcement.

-3-
1.3 Objectives and challenges in relation to civil parking enforcement

Objectives

Listed are the key objectives identified by TMA 2004 in relation to the aims of parking
enforcement

Managing the traffic network to ensure expeditious movement of traffic

Improving road safety

Improving the quality and accessibility of public transport

Meeting the needs of people with disabilities some of whom will be unable to
use public transport and depend entirely on the use of a car

Managing and reconciling the competing demand for kerb line space

A technical team employed by CBC work in partnership with ECC highways

department and the transport policy team, to ensure the aims and objectives of ECC
County wide transport policies are achieved and complement the CBC town centre
parking strategy. The CBC town centre parking strategy can be found at
http://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/media/pdf/7/g/Car_Parking_Strategy_September_2007.pdf
The technical team are responsible for;

Monitoring existing parking restrictions and investigating new traffic and
parking issues reported or highlighted by ECC, the emergency services and the
general public, in relation to all public highways in the borough of Chelmsford.

Producing and implementing legal Traffic Regulation Orders (TRO) and

subsequent variations.

The following Consolidation orders can be found at the following links;

Borough Council of Chelmsford (Waiting, Loading and Parking Consolidation) Order

2009 http://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=6229
The Borough Council of Chelmsford (Off street parking places) (General) (Variation)
Order 2009 http://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=17416

The technical team have adopted a policy for waiting restrictions and Resident Permit
Parking which sets out the criteria when considering the implementation of a TRO.
This is set out on the following two pages.

-4-
 TRAFFIC REGULATION ORDER
POLICY GUIDELINE

Background

The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 gives six reasons for implementing a Traffic
Regulation Order, namely:-

1. for the avoidance of danger to road users;

2. for preventing damage to the road or a building near the road;
3. for facilitating the passage of road users;
4. for preventing the use of the road by unsuitable traffic;
5. for preserving the character of the road;
6. for preserving the amenities of the area.

Whilst the latter may be relevant to the requests received, making an Order for
economic benefit is not a valid reason.

Many parking restrictions are introduced with the aim of resolving particular local issues,
however the highway is intended for the purpose of passing and repassing and that no
right of parking exists on the highway. Parking provision is therefore a concession and,
however desirable, should not be at the expense of the purpose of the highway.
However, where it is safe and desirable parking should be allowed.

Waiting Restrictions

Waiting restrictions are largely introduced to remove dangerous or obstructive parking and
also aim to reduce traffic congestion and promote the flow of traffic.

Waiting restrictions will be considered if:-

an accident investigation identifies that parking on a regular basis is a

contributory factor to the road safety situation at that location;

it is considered parking on a regular basis is causing potential road safety hazards

at a particular location, including impairing visibility for pedestrians or other road
users.

Waiting restrictions are generally introduced at junctions, outside schools or on

strategic and distributor roads to improve traffic flow.

-5-
 TRAFFIC REGULATION ORDER
POLICY GUIDELINES

Resident Permit Parking

The majority of residential estates were not designed for the level of car ownership or
the volume of traffic using them today. The inadequacy of on-street parking provision is
the main cause of complaints from residents. Due to the number of requests for
resident permit parking and budgetary constraints, it is necessary to investigate and
prioritise each request so that those areas in most need are given greater priority. The
criteria for determining such requests for a resident permit parking scheme are as
follows:-

• The parking by non-residents must be sufficiently severe to cause serious

inconvenience to residents;

• The majority of residents have no off-street parking facilities available to them;

• The majority of residents are in favour;

• The introduction of a scheme would not cause unacceptable problems in

adjacent roads;

• The Council is satisfied that a reasonable level of enforcement can be

maintained.

Any scheme will take into account the width of the road for access by emergency
service vehicles. If the width of the carriageway is less than 6.8 metres then the design of
the resident permit parking scheme will not allow parking both sides of the road.
General parking restrictions will not be considered if the parking problem occurs occasionally
or is a short lived invasion.
Parking restrictions will not be considered in residential areas across driveways or culde-
sacs where the problem appears to be caused by the residents themselves.

The above criteria should be used as a guide and be treated as reasonable requirements
for a scheme, however special circumstances that may arise from time to time need to
be taken into consideration and it is therefore important to consider each scheme on its
own merit.

-6-
 Challenges

Chelmsford attracts a high turnover of visitors to the town creating many challenges
in relation to parking issues and how they are controlled

Attraction Challenges without control Control measures in place Future schemes

measures
A central train Attracts a high level of Various No Waiting, No Continued
station offering easy commuter base and retail Waiting and No Loading, assessment and
access to central customer. Limited Waiting and Limited review of;
London Waiting on street pay and current TRO’s.
All day commuter parking on display restrictions New TRO’s
Many offices, retail main through routes and implemented in strategic areas
outlets and residential streets. dependant on road network,
restaurants attracting traffic flows and parking habits.
a large workforce Congestion caused by
passenger drop off and pick 8 resident parking zones
up around train station introduced in central locations
A central bus station to enable residents the
providing local and Main bus routes and station opportunity to park in the
national bus obstructed by inconsiderate residential areas free from all On-street pay
networks parking preventing free flow day commuter parking. and display to
of traffic be considered
An attractive town Priority bus lanes during peak for Moulsham
centre with many Prime location short stay car hours. Street.(Subject
shops, bars, parks intended for retail to consultation
restaurants, cinemas, customers full with all day Provision of competitively with Moulsham
theatre and leisure commuter parking. priced long stay car parks for Street Traders)
facilities. commuter and all day parking
with season tickets available at
Many schools Inconsiderate parent parking, some car parks.
attracting large causing obstruction and
numbers of parent congestion to residential Introduction of ECC Park and
drop off / pick up at areas and main through Ride site at Sandon.
relevant school times routes
Pricing strategy for short stay Increase
retail car parks offering capacity at
competitively priced short stay current Park
parking up to 4 hours after and Ride site.
which the price increase More Park and
becomes greater to detract all Ride sites
day parking identified for
future
Dedicated school patrol
enforcement rotas

-7-
1.4 The Parking Enforcement Operation

The parking enforcement operation consists of a team of trained Civil Enforcement

Officers (CEO’s) responsible for the enforcement of parking restrictions both on and
off street. These Officers are responsible for maintaining the free flow of traffic
throughout the town, ensuring that car parks are used for the intended purpose and
are available to give motorists professional helpful advice regarding correct and
incorrect parking practices. If a vehicle cannot be moved on, CEO’s will issue a
Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) to any vehicle which is in contravention of a parking
restriction.
All Civil Enforcement Officers are highly trained and have gained a qualification in
City and Guilds Parking Attendant level 2.

The back office staff are responsible for processing the issued PCN’s.
This will involve;

Receiving payments;

Dealing with informal and formal challenges,

Sending out the various legal correspondence,

Providing details and attending adjudicator hearings

Registering debt at the traffic enforcement centre.

Dealing with bailiff companies.

Issuing resident permits

The back office staff are well trained in the legislation of TMA 2004, have all attended
various customer service courses and have an excellent knowledge of various signs
and lines legislation. The staff are available to give helpful advice on all parking related
matters.

These teams are supported and managed by the Parking Operations Manager.

-8-
Chelmsford Borough Council aim to manage the parking enforcement operation for
both on-street and off-street efficiently, effectively and economically with the scheme
being self financing.
The current staffing levels meet these criteria and ensure;

Adequate enforcement coverage of the many parking restrictions and car
parking spaces within the borough

Provide sufficient back office staff to fully process the Penalty Charge Notices.

Ensure a concentrated resource to review new and current parking
restrictions.

The following pages contain;

Appendix A: Parking Service staff structure

Appendix B: Total on street restrictions and on street parking bays requiring
enforcement coverage.
Appendix C: Car parks and space numbers

-9-
Appendix A Parking Service staff structure

Technical and Parking

Services Manager

Cemetery & Crematorium Technical

Parking Operations Support Officer
Manager

Car Park Car Park Projects 2 x Parking Parking Office 3 x Technicians

Supervisor Officer Enforcement Supervisor
Supervisors

Park and Ride 5 x Parking Officers

Assistant Car Supervisor (PCN processing)
Park Supervisor 12 x Civil
Enforcement Officers
1x Parking Officer (car park income
On and off –Street
reconciliation and car park season
Park and Ride ticket administrator)
12 x Car Park Assistant
Attendants Supervisor All staff process resident permit and
5 x Sunday staff perform general administration
functions
2 x Park and Ride
Attendants

- 10 -
 Appendix B.
Total on street restrictions and on street
parking bays requiring enforcement coverage

On Street Parking Places and Waiting Restrictions Analysis

Area Total No. No. Type

Metres Of Of
bays permit
Zone 1 6610 1322 Resident/Worker/Visitor/Temp permit
Zone 2 1526 305 Resident/Worker/Visitor/Temp permit
Zone 3 2193 438 Resident/Worker/Visitor/Temp permit
Zone 4 12240 2448 Resident/Worker/Visitor/Temp permit
Zone 5 4447 889 Resident/Worker/Visitor/Temp permit
Zone 6 2347 469 Resident/Worker/Visitor/Temp permit
Zone 7 5120 1024 Resident/Worker/Visitor/Temp permit
Zone 8 1090 218 Resident/Worker/Visitor/Temp permit
Total 35573 7114 Resident/Worker/Visitor/Temp permit
Marks & Spencer 49 14 Business Permit
Service Yard
Borough wide 1384 277 n/a Free Limited Waiting
Borough wide 661 132 n/a Pay & Display
Borough wide 262 52 n/a Disabled Bays (Town Centre)
Borough wide 284 43 n/a Disabled Bays – Individual (6.6m)
Borough wide 69507 n/a n/a No Waiting restrictions
Total 72098 518
Overall Total 107671 7632

 No Waiting Restrictions include Taxi Ranks, Loading Bays, Clearways and a variety of operational times
 Does not include pending restrictions for Variation 24
 Zonal permit parking does not take into account driveways where ‘dog-bone’ markings have been placed – the above mentioned
number of bays would be reduce

- 11 -
Appendix C
Car Park Number Season Blue Type of car park
of bays ticket badge
bays bays
Baddow Road 328 6 Surface car park Pay and Display
Coval Lane 179 8 Surface car park Pay and Display
Fairfield Road 52 303 3 Surface car park Pay and Display
Glebe Road 55 Surface car park Pay and Display
Meadows Surface 201 9 Surface car park Pay on Foot
Moulsham Street 164 Surface car park Pay and Display
New Writtle Street 150 8 Surface car park Pay and Display
Parkway 85 5 Surface car park Pay and Display
Rectory Lane East 70 4 Surface car park Pay and Display
Rectory Lane West 294 9 Surface car park Pay and Display
Regina Road 56 Surface car park Pay and Display
Riverside 373 15 Surface car park Pay and Display
Waterhouse Lane 79 1 Surface car park Pay and Display
Waterloo Lane 1 63 1 Surface car park Pay and Display
Waterloo Lane 2 52 1 Surface car park Pay and Display
West End 37 4 Surface car park Pay and Display
Wharf Road 300 10 Surface car park Pay and Display
High Chelmer Multi 862 200 15 Surface car park Pay on Foot
Storey
Meadows Retail Multi 377 50 22 Surface car park Pay on Foot
Storey
Townfield Street 531 214 6 Surface car park Pay on Foot

- 12 -
1.5 A note on the Council website

Up to date information regarding all services offered by the parking department is

provided on the Council website by accessing the following links.

www.chelmsford.gov.uk/parking

Car Parks Residential Parking Blue Badge Parking

Chelmsford car parks >> Residents Parking Scheme >> Disabled Parking>>

Parking Fines Other Useful Contact Us

Information

Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) > Park and Ride >> Contact us >>
How to Pay a PCN >> Parking Enforcement >> Frequently asked
How to Challenge a PCN >> TMA 2004 >> questions >>
Challenge Rejections >>

- 13 -
2 PCN challenges and appeals

2.1 The challenge process

Once a PCN has been issued and served to a contravening vehicle the legal process as
mapped out by The Traffic Management Act 2004 commences.

The motorist is offered a 28 day period to pay the penalty charge in full before a
Notice to Owner will be issued to the registered keeper. The motorist is also offered
a 50% reduction of the full penalty charge if the PCN is paid within 14 days of issue.
If the motorist wishes to challenge the PCN within this initial 28 day period the
motorist may submit an informal challenge for the council to consider. Once an
informal challenge is received the case will be frozen until a decision has been made.
If the informal challenge is submitted within the initial 14 day discount period and the
challenge is subsequently declined, the motorist may be offered a further 14 days to
pay the PCN at the discounted rate.

If a motorist has had an informal challenge declined the motorist may still challenge
the case further submitting a formal challenge / representation using the Notice to
Owner form sent after the 28 day period.

All motorists that receive a Notice to Owner are given the option to either;

Pay the full amount

Send in formal representations to the council within 28 days from the date of
issue on the Notice to Owner.

If the council decline the formal representations, the motorist has the further option
to appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for an independent adjudication.
In all cases the Traffic Penalty Tribunal decision is binding and final.
Information regarding the Traffic Penalty Tribunal can be found at
www.trafficpenaltytribunal.gov.uk

CBC will consider all challenges and representations submitted and may apply
discretion in certain circumstances.
Chelmsford Borough Council has a parking enforcement discretion policy which can
be viewed at http://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=6285

Following the challenge process, any payments owed and not received within the
specified time will result in the issue of a charge certificate which will increase the
charge by 50%. Failure to pay this new charge within the specified time may result in a
County Court order for recovery of debt and a warrant being issued to a bailiff.

All correspondence and contact details regarding payment and how to challenge a
PCN are clearly listed on all documentation issued.

- 14 -
 PCN process flow chart

28 days from issue date,

electronic DVLA enquiry 28 days from 14 days from issue
Penalty charge
submitted. Once owner Notice to owner of Charge
notice (PCN) Discounted rate
details received (Usually Charge certificate Certificate, debt PE2
issued. Penalty charge expires after 14
within 1 day, but some is issued. PE3 issued
Higher level notice discounted days. Full
DVLAs take longer. If Payment required £5 court registration
contravention by 50% if paid payment required.
details are not received is increased by fee is added to
£70 within 14 days
within 6 mths, case closed) 50% payment required.
Lower level from issue date. Higher level £70
Notice to owner (NTO)
contravention Lower level £50
sent day after receipt of Higher level £105 Higher level £110
£50
details. Lower level £75 Lower level £80
Full payment required

Written Challenge Owner responds to

received notice with
representation No payment
received within
21 days.
Representation Warrant to
accepted bailiffs
Case put on hold
requested
while challenge is Y N
considered.

Issue NTO to 21 days given

other vehicle for appeal
owner or
Challenge cancel ticket
Accepted

If appeal received, No appeal

Y N case date given by received
Traffic Penalty within 21 days
Tribunal
Penalty Decline letter
charge notice sent, payment Case won
cancelled required.
N Y

Penalty charge Date given for full

notice payment.
cancelled Higher level £70
Lower level £50

- 15 -
3: What’s new

3.1 The introduction of differential Penalty Charge Notice charging

Under the previous RTA 1991 the Penalty Charge was set at £60.00 and was applied
to all parking contravention codes. This Penalty Charge had remained unchanged since
the introduction of RTA 1991 in October 2002

It has been considered that a single penalty charge does not necessarily remain
proportionate to the contravention. For example, many may consider that a
contravention for parking on a No Waiting No Loading restriction is more serious
and should attract a higher fine than, say, overstaying in a pay and display car park.

Under TMA 2004 differential Penalty Charge Notice charging was introduced for a
higher and lower level penalty charge.
A choice of 2 bands was given;

Band Higher Level penalty charge Lower Level penalty charge

1 £60 £40
2 £70 £50

To remain consistent throughout the county of Essex, it was agreed and approved
through the cabinet process that both ECC and CBC would adopt band 2 for both
on-street and off-street enforcement. These new charges were introduced from 31st
March 2008.

3.2 New powers under TMA 2004

With the introduction of TMA 2004 new powers (listed below) have been introduced
to local authorities outside London to complement the existing powers and benefit
the aims of parking enforcement.

Parking enforcement via an approved CCTV camera device.

Dropped kerb and double parking.

Penalty Charge Notice issued by post.

Parking enforcement via an approved CCTV camera device.

Currently the use of CCTV has not been used at Chelmsford to enforce parking
restriction but regular reviews will take place to consider if CCTV enforcement is a
viable option.
The benefits of CCTV are apparent in areas where high volumes of vehicles park in
contravention of parking restrictions during short peak time periods causing
obstruction and reducing the free flow of traffic. Areas such as rail stations and
schools for the purpose of waiting to collect passengers meet such criteria.

- 16 -
Dropped kerb and double parking.

An amendment to TMA 2004 has enabled local authorities since June 2009 to enforce
dropped kerb parking and double parking without the need to erect signs in the
necessary area.
CBC will enforce these new powers and together with ECC have supplied the policy
statement reproduced below:

Parking across Dropped Kerbs and Double Parking

With effect from 1st June 2009 legislation enabled Enforcement Authorities outside
London to commence enforcement of these two contraventions, without the need to
introduce specific Traffic Regulation Orders introduce any specific signing.

At the introduction of the powers for Enforcement Authorities outside London Rosie
Winterton MP, then Minister of Transport, said:

Dropped footways are provided to help wheelchair users and those with powered mobility
vehicles or prams get around easily and safely. They also allow residents to easily reach their
garages or park on their driveways. The Highway Code says that you should not stop or park
in such places and we believe placing of traffic signs and/or road markings to indicate these
restrictions should not be necessary - as is the case in London.

The same rules should apply to allow councils to enforce against double parking - a
dangerous activity that causes an unnecessary obstruction of the road, putting all road users
at risk.

While we believe signs and markings are not necessary in these specific and restricted
circumstances, we expect local authorities who want to use these powers to publicise their
plans to do so. All other restrictions will continue to require clear signs and markings.

Acting as agents of Essex County Council, the Enforcement Authority, Borough and
District Councils will enforce this legislation as follows:

Civil Enforcement Officers, who, in the course of their normal patrols, come across incidents
where a vehicle is parked across a dropped kerb at a junction, or other location primarily to
assist pedestrians, wheelchair users and those with powered mobility vehicles, or prams,
should issue a penalty charge notice.

Where a dropped kerb is intended to allow access to residential or commercial properties

CEOs should only react to requests for assistance from residents or proprietors. Response to
such requests will be within a reasonable time dependant upon circumstances including other
demands or duties, and availability/location of the nearest CEO. In cases of persistent abuse
serious consideration will be given to including the location in CEOs regular patrol routes.
Instances of greater urgency, or serious obstruction, should be directed to the police with a
view to their additional powers to deal with obstruction being utilised.
- 17 -
 Penalty Charge Notice issued by post.

There are occasions where a contravening vehicle has had a Penalty Charge Notice
(PCN) produced but the PCN has not been served because the motorist prevented
the PCN from being served or the vehicle drove away.
In these instances the TMA 2004 permits the issue of a Regulation 10 PCN served by
post. The Regulation 10 PCN acts as both a PCN and a Notice to Owner.
CBC has recently incorporated the Regulation 10 PCN to the enforcement system
and will be issuing by post in circumstances as noted above.

3.3 The car park modernisation programme

When operating the public town centre car parks enforcement measures are essential
to ensure that the various car parks are used for the intended purpose. It is also
essential to ensure that the best possible facilities are available to members of the
public to ensure these measures can be reasonably enforced.

During 2007/08 £1.5 million was spent on improving car parks in the following areas;

New solar powered pay and display machines installed in all surface car parks
offering credit card payment and associated management control and report
systems giving real time information on the operational status of the machinery
see (Note A.)

New pay on foot control systems, offering change facility and credit card
payment, installed in all Multi Storey and Meadows Surface car park, including
CCTV and customer Intercom help points and associated management control
and report systems giving real time information on the operational status of
the machinery see (Note A.)

- 18 -

New car park entrance boards and tariff boards.

New car park customer enquiry office at Meadows Retail and Meadows
Surface car parks

New parking enforcement rest room facility built at Meadows Retail car park.

New car park height barriers.

Note A
This real time information is essential to enable action to be taken prior to the
potential failure of the equipment. A basic example of how this function has improved
machine reliability is the pre warning function that the ticket stock is low. This alerts
the central user that the ticket stock is low and needs to be replenished in advance
rather than the problem arise once the machine has run out of tickets and the
machine fails.
More advanced pre warning functions are also available with the same benefits.
The reduction in machine downtime and the high levels of reliability ensure a
consistent approach to the parking enforcement.

All these improvements have been carefully considered and implemented with the
intention to offer the customer alternative methods of payment for parking, with
increased reliability of machinery and clear information boards detailing tariff and
Penalty Charge Notice information thus giving the customer every opportunity to fully
comply with the parking requirements.

Safer parking

19 Chelmsford Borough Council car parks have been re-accredited with

the safer parking Park Mark award. Accredited assessors from Essex Police and the
British Parking Association inspect car parks looking at all aspects of security, car park
condition, operational procedures and the operational management practices. More
information on this scheme is available on the British Parking Association’s website-
www.britishparking.co.uk. All car parks that have been accredited with Park Mark are
listed on the safer parking website – www.saferparking.com

3.4 Car park zones and tariff structure

In April 2009 a car park zoning system was introduced to ensure a clear consistent
approach to implementing car park fees and charges, taking into account location,
availability and demand whilst ensuring adequate provision for long stay and short stay
parking needs.

- 19 -
Chelmsford Borough Council is responsible for long stay, short stay; mixed stay and
limited waiting short stay car parks. The zones consist of Long Stay Zone A, B &C and
Short Stay Zone A, & B. There will be a further 2 car parks which will complement
the on street controlled parking zones and will offer short stay limited waiting.
Long Stay Zone A

Offering easy access, high demand, and prime location parking situated 3 to 5 minutes
walk from the railway station.
The pricing structure reflects the high demand for parking, Monday to Friday, while
recognising the reduced demand for parking between Saturday and Sunday.
Car parks in this zone are attractive to early morning rail commuters

Long Stay Zone B

Offering Long stay parking situated 7 to 10 minutes walk from the railway station.
The pricing structure reflects the high demand for parking, Monday to Friday, while
recognising the reduced demand for parking between Saturday and Sunday.
Car parks in this zone are attractive to rail commuters and customers working within
the town.

Long stay Zone C

Offering long stay parking on the outer edge of Chelmsford Town Centre. Car parks
in this zone are located in excess of 12 minutes walk to the train station and within 7
to 10 minutes walk from the town centre offices and Shops.
The pricing structure takes into account the demand for parking Monday to Friday
while recognising the locality to the town centre shops and the demand for retail
parking at weekends.
Car parks in this zone are attractive to customers working in the town, customers
who require extended parking whilst visiting the town centre and customers visiting
the town centre at weekends.

Short Stay Zone A

Offering easy access, high demand, and prime location parking situated 3 to 5 minutes
from the heart of the shopping town centre.
The pricing structure takes into account the demand for continual turn over of space
to satisfy the high demand for short stay parking and does not encourage long stay
parking.
Car parks in this zone are attractive to customers visiting the town centre shops.

Short Stay Zone B

Car parks in this zone are situated on the outer boundary of the town centre and are
also located within the boundary of Long Stay zone C. Car parks in this zone are
located in excess of 7 minutes walk to the train station and within 7 minutes walk of
the town centre offices and shops.
The need for short stay parking and turn over of space is high, but is not as
demanding as car parks situated in zone A. This presents the opportunity to offer an
- 20 -
element of long stay parking within this zone. Therefore the car parks situated in this
zone are mixed stay car parks and the pricing structure reflects the demand for short
stay parking, with the long stay fee set at such a level that it does not encourage full
occupation of the car park with long stay parking.
Car parks in this zone are attractive to customers wishing to visit the town centre for
short periods of time but also offer the opportunity for long stay parking within easy
reach of the town centre should an extended visit be required.

Short Stay Zone C

Car Parks in this zone are situated to the outer east ring of the town centre. Car
parks in this zone offer parking with good locality to the Town Centre but are not
ideally placed to serve the train station. These car parks offer equal long stay and
short stay provision and appeal to customers working in the town or visiting the town
for short or extended periods of time.

Limited waiting short stay car parks

These car parks are situated on the outskirts of the town centre and provide parking
for customers wishing to visit the retail outlets in Moulsham Street and West End.
The amount of spaces available in these car parks is limited, and limited waiting
restrictions have been introduced to these car parks to ensure availability of spaces
for customers wishing to visit these outlets. The pricing structure compliments the
current on street controlled parking zone situated in the West End.

A map of Chelmsford car parks and the Off street parking order including current car
park tariffs and zone areas can be download at;
http://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=6229

- 21 -
- 22 -
3.5 Changes to the Residents Parking Scheme

After consultation with the emergency services, particularly the Fire Service it was
apparent that areas of the resident parking scheme, which incorporated parking on
both sides of the road, did not allow sufficient road width to allow large vehicles such
as fire appliances a safe unhindered through route.

Clearly this raised a serious issue, resulting in the Chelmsford Borough Council
technical team being assigned the task to review all current residents parking zones
and identifying the potential problem areas.

Having reviewed the areas it was identified that from all the various roads, which form
the resident parking scheme, 84 % of the roads will need consideration to remove
some of the existing resident parking capacity and potentially replace with No Waiting
restrictions.

When managing a resident parking scheme it is important to ensure that available

parking areas are not over subscribed. When the resident parking scheme was first
introduced in the early 1990’s and the total available parking area had been
implemented, it was perceived that sufficient parking would be available for residents
based on a two car family while allowing some capacity for visitor parking.
It was also perceived that some of the residents would either have one vehicle or no
vehicle at all. Therefore during this period the number of resident permits per
property was not limited.

In subsequent years, the amount of vehicles on the road has increased and therefore
so has the demand for public highway kerb space. The resident parking scheme is no
exception to this trend. Also the town has increased in size with many new
developments and therefore with the aim of protecting the amount of resident
parking space available, a planning policy was introduced in 2002 which prevented any
new residential properties built within the resident zones automatically qualifying for a
resident permit.

With the continued increase of vehicle numbers registered against residential

properties and having ascertained the need to improve road access by removing some
elements of the available resident parking space, it was essential to propose some
control methods to protect the future of the resident parking scheme from risk of
over subscription.

In June and July 2008 Parking Services undertook a consultation with households using
the residents parking scheme to seek residents views on a number of specific
proposals.

The following article was released in Borough Life magazine in February 2009.

- 23 -
LIFE Article - February 2009
‘===========================================================

Results of the Residents’ Permit Parking Consultation 2008.

In June and July 2008 Parking Services undertook a consultation with households using
the resident permit parking scheme within Chelmsford to seek their views on a
number of specific proposals for changes to the scheme and also to receive general
feedback on its current operation within their area. There was an excellent response
with a total of 1747 forms completed and returned of the 3524 forms distributed.

The responses to the specific questions posed are shown in the table below. Many
residents took the trouble to make a number of helpful observations in relation to
general parking issues. These have provided a valuable source of information and will
be used as a basis for further investigation and may result in future improvements to
the scheme.

Specific questions were posed on the proposal to place limits on vehicle lengths and
heights and the exclusion of adapted food and goods vehicles/trailers. These received
substantial support. The majority of respondents were also in favour of limiting the
number of permits per household to a maximum of two, at present there is no limit.

The results of the survey were presented to the Council’s Cabinet on 7th October
2008. Cabinet members agreed at that meeting to four changes to the scheme as
outlined below;

Vehicles over 2.2metres high to be excluded from the scheme

Vehicle & trailers over 5.25metres long to be excluded from the scheme
Adapted food & goods vehicles or trailers to be excluded from the scheme
The limiting of the number of permits per household to 2.

These changes will be phased in during 2009

A review of roads with regard to emergency and service vehicle access is ongoing. A
number of roads have been identified where access can be very difficult for larger
vehicles at certain times of the day. Preliminary discussions have been held with Essex
County Council on the possible options for amending the existing restrictions in these
roads to reduce this problem whilst endeavouring to minimise any loss of parking for
residents.

Any proposals to formally change an on street restriction will need to follow the
appropriate legal and democratic process. Residents that may be affected will have the
opportunity to make formal representation on any such proposal at the relevant time.

There was significant interest expressed in taking part in the future Parking Forum.
Approximately 1300 respondents wished to be involved. Whilst we would not expect
there to be a regular need to consult as changes are fairly infrequent, in view of the
numbers it is likely that we will only contact a representative sample
- 24 -
We would like to take this opportunity to thank those residents that took the trouble
to complete and return the questionnaire.

Tabulated results
(The majority view is displayed first)

Exclude vehicles over 2.2 metres high from the scheme? Yes : 1167
No : 540

Exclude vehicle & trailers over 5.25 metres long from the scheme? Yes : 1451
No : 272

Exclude adapted food & goods vehicles or trailers from scheme? Yes : 1320
No : 387

Charge according to CO2 emissions or engine size? No : 1108

Yes : 598

Limit number of permits per household? Two vehicles : 909 No limit : 566 One
vehicle: 249

Additional permits to be more expensive? No : 1167

Yes : 559

Keep the permit scheme? Yes : 1629

No : 92

Extend the hours to the working day? No : 1092

Yes : 557

Include Sundays in the scheme? No : 1413

Yes : 296

Include Bank Holidays in the scheme? No : 1386

Yes: 321

Are any occupants registered for Disabled parking? No : 1574

Yes : 129

Age Over 60 : 601 40-59 : 568

17-39 : 531

Do you wish to take part in future forums? By post : 1087

No : 420 e-mail: 221

- 25 -
Following the cabinet members decision on 7th October 2008, Variation Order 25 was
advertised in The Essex Chronicle and all comments were received and presented to
the licensing and regulatory committee where the cabinet proposals were agreed. The
final Has Made order was advertised on 25th June 2009 with an implementation date of
1st July 2009.

A letter was sent to all current Resident permit holders with 3 or more permits. The
intention of the letter was to reiterate the previously advertised changes to the
scheme and to inform that although new applicants joining the scheme from 1st July
2009 would not be able to obtain more than 2 permits per household, a grace period
until July 2010 had been applied to current residents affected, therefore giving at least
one year notice to make alternative arrangements.
A copy of the residents parking scheme policy can be found at
http://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=6277

- 26 -
3.6 On street pay and display

In areas where limited waiting parking is available, effective enforcement of these

areas requires many visits by the CEO, detailing and observing vehicle activity. This
process is both time consuming and gives opportunity for abuse of the restriction.
Therefore to ensure the restriction is used as intended and the best use of CEO
patrolling time is utilised, on street CPZ’s have been introduced in Victoria Road and
Waterloo Lane replacing the existing limited waiting restriction. The tariffs for these
zones have been set in line with the existing West End CPZ’s with the exception of
free parking for the first 15 minutes in Waterloo Lane.

- 27 -
4 Statistics.
4.1 PCN issue and recovery

Currently CBC does not carry out CCTV bus lane enforcement, CCTV moving traffic
offences and immobilisation of vehicles

Financial period 2008/09

Total On Street Off Street
PCNs
Number of Higher level PCNs issued 7112 6599 513
Number of lower level PCNs issued 6468 1914 4554
Number of total PCNs issued 13580 8513 5067
Number of PCNs paid 9611 6613 2998
Number of PCNs paid at discount amount 7807 5349 2458
Number of PCNs against which an informal or 3875 1798 2077
formal representation was made
Number of PCNs cancelled as a result of an 2576 916 1660
informal or a formal representation
Number of PCNs written off for other 291 191 100
reasons (e.g. CEO error or driver
untraceable)
Number of appeals to adjudicator 20 15 5
*Number of appeals rejected 10 5 5
*Number of appeals allowed 8 8 0
*Number of appeals non-contested 2 2 0
% against total PCN’s Issued Total On Street Off Street
PCNs
Percentage of Higher level PCNs issued 52.37% 77.52% 10.13%
Percentage of lower level PCNs issued 47.63% 22.48% 89.87%
Percentage of PCNs paid 70.77% 77.68% 59.16%
Percentage of PCNs paid at discount amount 57.49% 62.83% 48.50%
Percentage of PCNs against which an informal 28.53% 21.12% 40.99%
or formal representation was made
Percentage of PCNs cancelled as a result of an 18.96% 10.71% 32.76%
informal or a formal representation
Percentage of PCNs written off for other 2.14% 2.24% 1.97%
reasons (e.g. CEO error or driver
untraceable)
Percentage of appeals to adjudicator 0.1% 0.03% 0.3%
*Percentage of appeals rejected 50% 34% 100%
*Percentage of appeals allowed 40% 53% 0%
*Percentage of appeals non-contested 10% 13% 0%
* These figures relate to cases which have been appealed to the Traffic Penalty
Tribunal for adjudication.
Appeals rejected are decisions awarded in favour of the council.
Appeals allowed are decisions awarded in favour of the motorist.
Appeals non-contested are appeals which have been withdrawn by the council.

- 28 -
4.2 Financial

The table below gives financial information for on-street and off-street parking
enforcement during period 01/04/08 to 31/03/09

On-street enforcement
Expenditure Employees £218,060
Other expenditure £275,130 £493,190
Income On-street fines £282,950
Residents parking £170,600
On-Street CPZ’s £71,130 £524,680

Net Surplus £31,490

The net surplus for 2008/09 has contributed to reducing the accumulated
decriminalised parking enforcement deficit from previous financial years.

Off-street enforcement
Expenditure Employees £75,400 £75,400

Income Off-street fines £97,450 £97,450

Net surplus £22,050

The net surplus for 2008/09 has contributed to the improvement of car parks, mainly
essential surface repair works in High Chelmer car park.

- 29 -
 Glossary
This glossary provides:

The full title to common acronyms used through this document.

Definitions of technical terms used.

CBC: Chelmsford Borough Council

CEO: Civil Enforcement Officer, formerly known as Parking Attendant prior

to the introduction of Traffic Management Act 2004.

Consolidation order: Revokes provisions of one or more existing order.

Re-enacts those provisions without any change of substance.

Contravention: This refers to a breach of a parking restriction, formerly known as an

offence.

CPZ: Controlled Parking Zone: On street areas where parking is regulated

within certain hours in the form of pay and display and permit control

ECC: Essex County Council

Notice to Owner: Legal document sent to registered keeper of vehicle in contravention of

a parking restriction.

PCN: Penalty Charge Notice.

RTA 1991: Road Traffic Act 1991, previous legislation prior to Traffic Management
Act 2004.

TMA 2004 part 6: Traffic Management Act 2004 part 6, current legislation regarding all
parking enforcement matters.

TPT: Traffic Penalty Tribunal, independent adjudicator for all parking related
appeals.

TRO: Traffic Regulation Order, a legal instrument by which traffic authorities

implement most traffic controls on their roads. Under the provisions of
the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, local authorities can implement
Traffic Regulation Orders, designed to regulate, restrict or prohibit the
use of a road or any part of the width of a road by vehicular or
pedestrians.

- 30 -
Parking Services
Directorate Safer Communities
Civic Centre
Duke Street
Chelmsford
Essex
CM1 1JE
Telephone: 01245 606303
www.chelmsford.gov.uk

- 31 -