Annual Report on

Parking Enforcement
Operations
2008/2009
 Introduction
1. This is the first Annual report produced by Eastleigh Borough Council in
accordance with the guidance to Local Authorities contained within Chapter 4
of the Department for Transport operational guidance first published in March
2008. The report also takes due regard of the requirements of the Traffic
Management Act 2004 and the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.

2. Eastleigh Borough Council commenced decriminalised parking enforcement

under the Road Traffic Act 1991 in October 2004 which gave the Council
(through an agency agreement with HCC) powers to enforce on-street parking
regulations as well as off-street car parking where a penalty charge notice
(pcn) is issued for a parking contravention.

Background
3. The Council is responsible for the delivery of parking enforcement in support
of the Council’s Traffic Management Agency responsibilities.

4. In addition, the parking service is also responsible for the administration of the
Residents’ Parking Scheme, the maintenance of on and off-street ticket
machines, car parks, CCTV and the meals-on-wheels service.

Scope
5. This document describes the enforcement methodologies and provides
performance data for the Council’s enforcement and parking activities from
the 1st April 2008 to the 31st March 2009.

Parking Enforcement Objectives

6. Parking enforcement is undertaken between 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week.
Enforcement can be undertaken outside these hours for a specific parking
problem.

7. The Council does not set targets on the issuing of pcns. The primary aim of
parking enforcement is traffic management and within that overall aim the
service seeks to focus on the following key objectives:

• To reduce traffic congestion resulting from illegally parked vehicles;

• To contribute towards road safety;
• Through reducing congestion, to contribute towards improvements in air
quality;
• To assist the timely operation of public transport;
• To facilitate access and response times for emergency services;
• To manage kerb space and access to parking in support of residents,
businesses, leisure and visitors parking; and
• To ensure improved quality of residents’ area, by enforcement of
residents’ parking schemes.

The Services Provided

Off-Street Car Parks

Eastleigh Borough Council

8. The Council’s Parking Services manages 17 off-street parking places of which
11 are pay and display parking places. These are mainly located within
Eastleigh Town Centre and are listed in Appendix A.

9. The parking tariffs adopted by the Council seek to support traffic management
by influencing the economic viability of the town centre and other parish
centres, highway use and to confirm to the Council’s corporate charging
policy. The car park tariffs are listed in Appendix B.

10. The Borough Council has invested over the years in CCTV and improved
lighting to help reduce the fear of crime and vehicle crime, in a number of
town centre car parks. During 2008/09 there were two reported thefts of
motor vehicles, one tampering of a vehicle and 3 thefts from a motor vehicle
within the town centre car parks.

11. The Council has currently 6 car parks which have been awarded the
Parkmark award which is an initiative of the Association of Chief Police
Offices. These sites have been vetted by the Police and each car park has
measures in place to create a safe environment for both the motorist and the
vehicle.

Residents Parking Scheme

12. There are 10 permit parking areas within the Borough. These have been
introduced to ensure that there is a balance between the needs for residents
to be able to park near their homes and the needs of other motorists.

13. There are 4 main types of permits that allow motorists to park in areas/bays
where controlled parking schemes apply:

• Residents permits
• Business permits
• Visitors permits
• Professional Carers/Carers permits

Eastleigh Town Centre Parking Permits

14. The total number of permits issued within Eastleigh Town Centre which
include full, visitors, carers and business permits is as follows.

Zone No. of Permits Issued

1 1695
2 1872
3 1999
4 1509
5 278
6 399
7 100
8 1284
9 928
Professional Carers/Carers 207
Grand Total 10271

Eastleigh Borough Council

15. The cost of permits is set out below:

Permit Charge
1st No Charge
2nd £35.00
3rd £65.00
(£25 inspection fee charged to ensure the
property does not have alternative off-road
parking)
Visitors No Charge
Carers No Charge
Professional Carers £35.00
Temporary Visitors £42.00 for 6 days
1st Business £35.00
2nd Business £65.00
3rd Business £95.00 if agreed
4th Business £125.00 if agreed

Hamble-le-Rice Parking Scheme

16. The total number of permits issued in Hamble-le-Rice which entitles residents
and businesses to park in the Square is 314.

17. The current cost for a resident’s permit is £50 and for a business a permit is
£100, with these charges being subsidised by the Local Area Committee.

Dispensation and Suspension

18. A parking dispensation allows a commercial vehicle to park on a waiting
restriction (yellow line) during restricted hours in circumstances where the
vehicle needs to be close to a specific location, for example building/shop
fitting work where access is required to load and unload tools or materials.

19. The cost for the issue of a parking dispensation is £15.00 or £25.00 if required
within 7 days.

20. A parking suspension allows a motorist to park for a specific purpose in a pay
and display bay during restricted hours. For example for carrying out works
that require the driver to park close to a building or load or unload tools or
materials.

21. The cost for the issue of a parking suspension is £15.00 or £25.00 if required
within 7 days.

School Enforcement
22. The regulations for enforcement of schools when schools are opening and
closing is seen as a key priority to ensure the safe movement of pedestrians
and children.

23. The parking services works closely with the Sustainable Transport Team in
reducing the number of vehicle movements to and from schools and
encouraging other modes of transport through School Travel Plans.
Eastleigh Borough Council
24. During the year 489 visits by Civil Enforcement Officers (CEO’s) were made to
22 schools within the Borough and are broken down as follows.

Schools Summary from 01.04.08 - 31.03.09 VISITS PCN'S CAT.

Berywood Primary School Maunsell Way Hedge End 69 9

A
Botley Primary School High Street Botley 4 0
C
Bursledon School Long Lane Bursledon 62 4
A
Chandlers Ford Infant School Kings Road Chandlers Ford 32 5
B
Freeground Infant & Junior School Hobb Lane Hedge End 32 4 C

Fryern Infant & Junior School Oakmount Rd Chandlers 28 3 C

Ford
Hamble County Primary School Hamble Lane 3 0 C

Hiltingbury Infant & Junior School Hiltingbury Rd Chandlers 1 0 C

Ford
Kings Copse Primary School Kings Copse Rd Hedge End 3 0 C

Merdon Junior School Merdon Ave & Brownhill Road 3 0 C

Chandlers Ford
Netley Abbey Infant School Priory Road/Westwood Road 2 0 C
Netley
Nightingale County Infant School Blackbird Rd. Eastleigh 3 1 C

Scantabout Primary School Peverells Wood Ave Chandlers 2 0 C

Ford
Shakespeare Junior & Infant School St. Catherines Road 5 0 B
Boyatt Wood
Sherbourne House School Lakewood Rd Chandlers Ford 6 0 B

St James Primary School Monarch Way West End 2 0 C

St Swithun Wells Primary School Hillcrest Ave Chandlers 1 0 C

Ford
Stoke Park Junior School Abbotsbury Road Bishopstoke 66 0 A

Stoke Park Junior School Underwood Road Bishopstoke 31 1 B

Toynbee School Bodycoats Road Chandlers Ford 14 2 0

Wildern Secondary School Wildern Lane Hedge End 60 6 A

Wyvern College + Fair Oak Junior School Botley Road Fair 60 3 A

Oak

Twice a week visits A

Once a week visits B
Once every 13 weeks C

Eastleigh Borough Council

 Disabled Parking
25. The Blue Badge scheme provides a national range of parking concessions for
disabled people with severe mobility problems.

26. The regulations for enforcement of Blue Badge parking bays is a key priority
to ensure only Blue Badge holders can park within these bays. All the Town
Centre disabled bays are patrolled daily to ensure a high level of compliance.

Traffic Management Act 2004

27. On 31st March 2008, the Government replaced Decriminalised Parking
Enforcement (DPE) across the country with Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE),
which is carried out under the Traffic Management Act 2004 (TMA).

28. The new legislation represents the largest single shift in the way parking
enforcement is conducted since the Road Traffic Act 1991. The
Government’s aim is to provide consistency by creating a single framework for
parking regulations across the country. It ensures a fair system is in place
and requires Councils to be more transparent and accountable.

29. In line with the new legislation, the Council has introduced many changes to
the way it deals with appeals and enforce parking regulations, for example:

(a) Challenges received prior to the issue of a Notice to Owner or

Enforcement Notice must now be dealt with; prior to TMA, this was
optional. However, this practice was already adopted prior to the new
legislation.

(b) A Penalty Charge Notice no longer needs to be placed on a vehicle, or

handed to a driver to be properly served.

(c) Parking Attendants are now known as Civil Enforcement Officers.

30. Other less obvious changes have taken place; the emphasis by Central
Government was on the Local Authority’s duty to show transparency and
fairness. The Council has welcomed this approach and has actively looked at
how services can be further improved in line with the new legislation.

Differential Parking Penalties

31. Differential parking penalties also came into effect on the 31st March 2008 as
part of the Traffic Management Act.

32. The Government’s aim is to make the system fairer. Higher penalties are
issued to motorists who park where it is not generally permitted. For example,
on yellow lines, the footway, school “Keep Clear” markings, or in residents’,
permit or disabled bays without displaying the appropriate permit or badge.

33. The less serious contraventions, which incur the lower charge, include
contraventions such as, overstaying time paid for in a pay and display bay, or
parking outside bay markings.

34. In circumstances where a driver parked in a permit bay and submits evidence
in the form of a visitors’ voucher valid for the date of the contravention, the
Eastleigh Borough Council
 Council will accept the evidence as confirmation that the driver was visiting a
resident and the lower charge will apply.

Key Performance Indicators

35. The key performance indicators for the parking service are listed below.

Target Actual
Letters responded to within 10 days 100% 99.5%
% of pcns that resulted in a appeal 1% 0.2%
to TPT
School enforcement visits 500 477
Visits to parish centres (1 per day) 303 325

Financial Performance 2007/08 and 2008/09

On-Street Income and Expenditure

36. The table listed below gives a breakdown of the income and expenditure for
on-street income and expenditure.

Decriminalised Parking

2007/08 Outturn 2008/09 Outturn

£ £
Parking Services 346,358 348,738
Property 8,965 15,730
Supplies & Services (includes 70,639 44,905
deferred charges)
Admin. Costs 15,688 17,253
Recharges from Service 26,256 24,912
Units/Practice Accounts
Payment to Agencies 0 801
Asset Rental 4,714 5,539
TOTAL EXPENDITURE 472,620 457,878

Gov Grants Deferred -10,402 -7,761

Fees & Charges -380 -588
Licences/Permits -805 -1,415
Admission -132,821 -170,027
Season Tickets -55,718 -63,370
Penalty Charge Notices -265,410 -231,621
TOTAL INCOME -465,536 -474,782
Total (SURPLUS) DEFICIT 7,084 -16,904
The surplus in 2008/09 has been transferred to the on-street parking reserve to
reduce deficit on the account.

37. The on-street budgets show a small surplus during 2008/09 against a deficit
the previous year. The main reduction in expenditure during 2008/09 is in
reduced costs mainly caused by deferred charges. The main increase in
income is due to increased usage and tariffs raised in on-street town centre
charges and the introduction of charges along Chestnut Avenue.

Eastleigh Borough Council

 Off-Street Charges

38. The table listed below gives a breakdown of the income and expenditure for
off-street parking (includes pay and display and non pay and display).

Car Park

2007/08 Outturn 2008/09/Outturn

£ £
Parking Services 274,413 289,093
Property 281,699 251,652
Supplies & Services (includes 101,368 118,162
deferred charges)
Admin. Costs 2,896 4,142
Recharges from Service 16,708 14,486
Units/Practice Accounts
Payment to Agencies 0 4,190
Asset Rental 92,850 92,136
TOTAL EXPENDITURE 769,934 773,861

Gov Grants Deferred -6,256 -78,712

Fees & Charges -122,275 -187,940
Admission -955,122 -1,032,831
Permits -93,986 -101,321
Penalty Charge Notices -121,449 -115,214
Misc Income -70,219 -75,843
Legal Fees -345 0
Rents -8,489 -8,443
TOTAL INCOME -1,378,141 -1,600,304

Total (SURPLUS) DEFICIT -608,207 -826,443

39. There has been a slight increase on expenditure during 2008/09 which was
due to deferred charges for Swan Centre car park areas and an increase in
staff costs.

40. The income did show considerable levels on growth due in part by increased
tariff charges and increased usage of the car parks. It should also be noted
that penalty charge income was lower than last year due to changes as part of
the Traffic Management Act 2004, which reduced the penalty charge fees on
a number of parking contraventions as detailed in paragraphs 29 – 32 of this
report.

Spending of the Surplus

41. The expenditure of income derived from parking places is governed by the
Traffic Management Act 2004, Section 88, and the Road Traffic Regulation
Act 1984, Section 55(a) and confirms the specific areas for surplus
expenditure as follows:

• Funding the provision of the parking service;

• Meeting all or any part of the cost of the provision of off-street car park
maintenance;
Eastleigh Borough Council
 • Facilitating the provision of public/passenger transport; and
• Traffic or highway improvements within the Borough.

42. The parking surplus for civil parking enforcement helps to reduce the on-street
parking reserve which before this year’s surplus was added, stood at a deficit
of £360,252. The on-street revenue is for capital funding on residential
parking schemes and the start up costs for civil parking enforcement.

43. The on-street reserve is set aside for Capital Funding Parking Schemes such
as capital set up costs for residents parking schemes and capital costs
associated with setting up decriminalised parking.

44. The off-street surplus of £826,443 contributions to the following on-going

revenue costs which is funded by the Council.

Concessionary Travel £1,080,966

Nite Bus Service £42,104

Public Transport £190,142

Transport to Hospitals £20,416

TOTAL £1,333,628

45. To replace the nett income surplus received as a result of the parking trading
account, the council tax for the Borough would need to increase by some
14%.

Off-Street PCN’s

Year Off-Street Penalty

Charge Notices
2008/09 5,520
2007/08 4,826

46. The 2007/08 figures follow similar lines although in the future the amount of
penalty charge notices are liable to drop due to the introduction of the pay on
foot parking scheme introduced in the Swan Centre roof top car park.

47. The number of penalties issued has been compared between 2008/09 and
2007/08. The 2008/09 figure shows an increase in the number of penalty
charge notices. The location where the pcn’s have been issued is shown
below.

Location Description Issued Out Issued Out

2008/09 2007/08
Bishopstoke Road Playing Fields Car Park 19 30
Car Park at the rear of the Dolphin 56 80
Hamble Foreshore Car Park 227 0
Hamble Square Car Park 318 0
Hanns Way Car Park 265 260
Eastleigh Borough Council
 Location Description Issued Out Issued Out
2008/09 2007/08
Hedge End Railway Station Car Park 85 0
Itchen Valley Country Park Car Park 213 180
Lakeside Country Park 60 41
Leigh Road Car Park 277 162
Multi Storey Car Park 427 615
Multi Storey Car Park – Basement 38 65
Multi Storey Car Park – Ground 587 514
Romsey Road Car Park 571 491
Southampton Road Car Park 98 52
Swan Shopping Centre 2,175 1,820
Twyford Road Car Park 102 120
Wells Place Car Park 2 396
(Car park closed due to redevelopment)
TOTALS 5,520 4,826

48. The main reason for the increase against the previous year is the new pay
and display station car parks which are being enforced at Hamble and Hedge
End.

49. It is anticipated that the level of pcn’s will fall during 2009/10 as the Swan
Centre roof top car park is no longer pay & display but changed to a pay on
foot parking system.

50. The table listed below gives a further breakdown of payments made at the
various formal stages, adjudication, cancelled and debt registration.

TMA ON-STREET ANNUAL SUMMARY

Issue Date From: 01/04/2008 Issue Date To: 31/03/2009 Appeal Date To: 30/06/2009
Number of Penalty Charge Number of Penalty Charge
Notices issued for parking 7,335 Notices Paid at Non-Discount 828
contraventions
Number of Penalty Charge Number of Penalty Charge
Notices paid within 14 days 4,378 Notices – Formal Representation 14
(at current state)
Number of Penalty Charge Number of Penalty Charge
Notices paid after 14 days but 586 Notices – Informal Representation 36
before service of charge (at current state)
certificate
Number of Penalty Charge Number of Penalty Charge
Notices paid after charge 217 Notices Cancelled – Appeal 23
certificate served Upheld
Number of cases going for Number of Penalty Charge
adjudication 16 Notices Cancelled – (Other 256
Reasons)
Number of charge certificates Number of cases registered for
registered 950 debt 406
Number of cases where no
further action is taken 1,302

Eastleigh Borough Council

51. The on-street pcn’s follow similar lines as previous years with 60% payments
made before the 14 day discount period and only 5.5% of the pcn’s going to
debt registration.

On-Street PCN’s

Year On-Street Penalty

Charge Notices
2008/09 7,335
2007/08 9,035

52. It should be noted that there has been a fall in the number of penalty charge
notices issued on-street.

53. To give further information a breakdown of the number of pcn notices issued
and paid at the varying fine levels and the payment amount are also attached
in Appendix C.

54. The local areas where each pcn has been issued are listed below.

2008/09 2007/08

Bishopstoke, Fair Oak & Horton Heath 88 134

Bursledon, Hamble-le-Rice & Hound 335 245
Chandler’s Ford & Hiltingbury 213 152
Eastleigh 6,336 8,120
Hedge End, West End & Botley 363 384
55. The major reduction is in the Eastleigh residents parking area, which is an
indication that motorists are becoming more aware of the restrictions and not
parking illegally.

Off-Street PCN’s

56. The table listed below gives a further breakdown of payments made at the
various formal stages.

TMA OFF-STREET ANNUAL SUMMARY

Issue Date From: 01/04/2008 Issue Date To: 31/03/2009 Appeal Date To: 30/06/2009
Number of Penalty Charge Number of Penalty Charge
Notices issued for parking 5,520 Notices Paid at Non-Discount 529
contraventions
Number of Penalty Charge Number of Penalty Charge
Notices paid within 14 days 3,447 Notices – Formal 8
Representation (at current
state)
Number of Penalty Charge Number of Penalty Charge
Notices paid after 14 days but 371 Notices – Informal 18
before service of charge Representation (at current
certificate state)
Number of Penalty Charge Number of Penalty Charge
Notices paid after charge 140 Notices Cancelled – Appeal 13
certificate served Upheld
Number of cases going for Number of Penalty Charge
adjudication 12 Notices Cancelled – (Other 125
Eastleigh Borough Council
 TMA OFF-STREET ANNUAL SUMMARY

Issue Date From: 01/04/2008 Issue Date To: 31/03/2009 Appeal Date To: 30/06/2009
Reasons)
Number of charge certificates Number of cases registered for
registered 436 debt 212
Number of cases where no
further action is taken 1,163

57. As to be expected 62% of payments are made within 14 days of the notice
issued to obtain the discount fee.

58. It should also be noted that only 3.8% of the pcn’s issued are registered for
debt, with the Courts.

Challenges and Representations Received

59. Where a parking contravention occurs, it is the “owner/registered keeper” of
the vehicle, who is legally obliged to pay the penalty charge. The owner
means the person by whom the vehicle is kept, which in the case of a vehicle
registered under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 (c22) is
presumed to be the person in whose name the vehicle is registered at the
DVLA. It is therefore essential that any changes of vehicle ownership are
immediately notified to the DVLA.

60. The only exception to this is where the vehicle was hired from a firm under a
hiring agreement and the person hiring it had signed a statement of liability in
respect of any penalty charge notice served in respect of the vehicle during
the period of the agreement.

61. Vehicle owners may dispute the issuing of a pcn at three stages:

(1) They can make an informed challenge or representation before the

Council issues a notice to owner (NTO). As a challenge at this stage
will be made by the person who has received the pcn, it may be that
the person submitting the challenge was the driver of the vehicle,
rather than the vehicle owner.

(2) Once an NTO has been served, they can make a formal representation
against the NTO. (This can still be done if an informal challenge has
previously been made and rejected). The legislation sets out specific
grounds on which formal representation against an NTO may be made
and are specified on the notice. Representations may also be made on
the basis that, in the particular circumstances of the case, there are
compelling reasons for the cancellation of the pcn.

(3) If the formal representation is rejected, the Council will issue a Notice
of Rejection and details of Traffic Penalty Tribunal. The appellant has
the right to appeal within 28 days of the issue of the Notice of Rejection
to an adjudicator of the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. The adjudicators have
a judicial position. They are appointed with the agreement of the Lord
Chancellor and they are wholly independent. Their decisions are final
(subject to their own power to review a decision) and they have the
power to award costs against either party. No further challenges can
Eastleigh Borough Council
 be made other than a point of law through an application to the High
Court for a Judicial Review. Appellants may choose to appear before
the adjudicator in person or via a postal hearing where written evidence
is supplied by both parties.

62. The details of the adjudication services and of the appeal process can be
found on their website www.trafficpenaltytribunal.gov.uk.

Policies for the Handling of Appeals

63. The process of considering challenges, representations and defence of

appeals is a legal process. It is necessary for the Council to keep a full and
accurate record of all challenges. This is why the Council asks that all
representations are made in writing (by letter, email or by completing one of
its appeal forms either on line or at the Civic and Town Centre Offices). The
Council has the discretion to cancel a pcn at any point in the appeals process.

64. The penalty charge notices issued during 2008/09 have been broken down to
show the number of appeals received and rejected by the varying penalty
charge notice fine levels and if issued either on or off street. The results are
shown on Appendix D.

65. The cancellation of pcn’s is further broken down and the reasons for
cancellation.

66. The Council’s cancellation and mitigation polices against which challenges,
representations or appeals are considered can be found on the Council’s
website www.eastleigh.gov.uk.

67. The results confirm that 12,855 notices were issued in the year, 9468 paid or
part paid (73.65%), 2,495 cancelled (19.04 %) and 254 (1.97%) written off.
There are currently 687 (5.34%) notices outstanding. The collection and
cancellation rate is in line with previous years and therefore is an indication of
a fair and consistent approach.

Appeals to Traffic Penalty Tribunal

68. During 2008/09 a total of 28 appeals were made to the Adjudication Services.
During this period the Council chose not to contest 7 appeals. This was
mainly due to new information being provided by the appellant for example,
information on the keeper of the vehicle or supporting documentary evidence
to confirm loading.

69. A total of 7 appeals were allowed at appeal and 14 refused. It should be

noted that the levels of appeals that go before the Adjudication Services is
only 0.2% of penalty charge notices issued.

FUTURE PLANS
70. There will be a number of changes to the parking service during 2009/10
which are listed below.

• The implementation of pay on foot system (already successfully installed).

Eastleigh Borough Council

 • Mobile telephone payments on all on and off street pay and display car
parks.
• The upgrading of hand held terminals with GPR’s.
• The introduction of a new residents parking zone in Falkland Road.
• The enforcement of drop kerb and double parking contraventions.

DUNCAN MCVEY
Head of Transportation and Engineering

Date: 1 September 2009

Contact Officer: Wayne Bailey
Tel No: 023 8064 8121
e-mail: wayne.bailey@eastleigh.gov.uk
Appendices Attached: 4 No.
Report No: EN1112

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972 - SECTION 100D

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report or an

important part of it is based and have been relied upon to a material extent in the
preparation of this report:

None.

Eastleigh Borough Council