Welwyn Hatfield Council
 
Annual Report on Parking and Enforcement Services
 

ANNUAL REPORT 2008‐2009 

FOR 

WELWYN HATFIELD BOROUGH COUNCIL 
 

 
 

Contents

Page

1 Introduction 1

2 Background to Enforcement Activities 1

3 Overview of Parking Provision and Strategy 2

4 Services Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council Provides 4

5 The Services that Hertfordshire County Council Provides 5

6 Recent Changes and New Developments 5

7 The PCN Process 6

8 Statistical Information 7

9 Financial Information – the Parking Account 10

10 Future Objectives 12

Appendix 1- Car Parks 13

Appendix 2 – Glossary of Terms 14

 
 

1 Introduction

Thank you for taking the time to read this Annual Report, which is for the year ended
31st March 2009. Its aim is to provide information relating to the services provided by
Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council (WHBC). We aim to demonstrate how we balance
the needs of local residents, businesses, the university and motorists alike. The
demand for parking space often exceeds the available kerb space and this situation
is only likely to get worse.

This report will set out the differing responsibilities between this council and the
county council. In order to reduce the length of this report there will be a series of
web links to appropriate sources of information. Reference copies of this report will
be made available in reception areas and libraries within the council’s offices so that
residents can have ready access to a hard copy version.

The council is committed to communicating as fully as possible to all residents and

users of its services. This report is the first report required under the Traffic
Management Act 2004 (TMA) and provides an ideal opportunity to set out clearly our
responsibilities and the ways in which we communicate to all stakeholders.

The Borough reflects a wide variety of old and new, with town centres and villages
covering just less than 130 square kilometres.

2 Background

WHBC adopted Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) powers in June 2005.

These powers were necessary as the local police force had effectively withdrawn
from parking enforcement leading to significant levels of congestion, general
obstruction and a parking free for all in the city centre.

On 31 March 2008 new regulations and a new legal framework were introduced
under the TMA and the enforcement regime was renamed as Civil Parking
Enforcement (CPE). (For further details and changes see section 6.1)

The Act did not however fundamentally change the objectives of traffic management.
These are to;
a) Reduce congestion
b) Improve road safety
c) Improve journey times for public transport
d) Effect transference of journeys from car to greener modes of transport
e) Manage and reconcile the competing demands for kerb space
f) Consider how to meet the needs of people with disabilities.

The Act emphasised that parking provision is not to be regarded as a revenue

raising exercise. It also recognised that the provision of parking services is a costly
exercise but that so far as possible it should be self financing and able to provide
investment for continuous improvement in meeting the overall objectives. It also
recommended that improved levels of communication were desirable and that
transparency, fairness and consistency must be shown in the provision of such

1
 

services. This report is part of that process and we welcome feedback to ensure that
we are meeting these objectives.

3 Overview of Parking Provision and Strategy

We provide public parking facilities to assist with traffic management and

environmental improvements. There are two documents which set out the way in
which the council determines its overall strategy and enforcement regime. Both are
available on the council’s website and these are respectively
 the Welwyn Hatfield Council Parking Strategy 2004 to 2010
 Hertfordshire Local Transport Plan 2006/7 to 2010/11.
http://www.welhat.gov.uk/transportstreets/parking/dnld_200072/WHC_PARKING_ST
RATEGY.pdf and
http://www.hertsdirect.org/envroads/roadstrans/transplan/ltp/

The Council publishes a priority list of schemes that are in process of being
investigated for implementation and details are available on the web site. This is
regularly reviewed to ensure that it meets the needs of residents and other
stakeholders. (see section 6.2 below)

The council owns, maintains and enforces parking restrictions in a number of car
parks, details of which are available on our website, together with a map of the
available disabled bays in Welwyn garden City. Additional information will shortly be
made available for other disabled parking provision. See also Appendix 1 of this
report and section 3.3 below.

3.1 Parking Principles

It is important to realise that parking controls cannot be introduced without

consultation from all affected parties. On occasions a pilot scheme for an
experimental period may be introduced to establish whether intended
improvements can be achieved. Throughout this period objections can be
lodged or feedback given and the council will take these into account within the
relevant period for such schemes.
A good example of this would be the new schemes being implemented around
the QE2 hospital, which was built in the early 1960s but is surrounded by
residential development which was giving rise to considerable parking pressure
on residents, hospital staff and visitors including access issues for emergency
vehicles – particularly ambulances. Similar pressures exist within streets
adjacent to the university in Hatfield and the college in Welwyn Garden City
Centre.

The council also needs to be aware of the demand by disabled drivers or

passengers needing to park where there are restrictions in order to provide
ready access to shops and businesses.

2
 

3.2 Off Street Parking

Off street car parking contributes significantly to the achievement of traffic

management objectives. Parking tariffs can assist in managing the differing
demands of shoppers, shop workers and commuters. The council currently
provides free parking for the disabled in all manned council car parks as part of
their commitment to the disabled community.

The method of payment in paying car parks is almost exclusively pay on foot
which means that a ticket is obtained on entry and needs to be paid for before
exiting the car park. This type of equipment, whilst more expensive, has the
advantage of preventing penalty charges being incurred for forgetting to buy a
ticket or buying a ticket which does not cover the length of stay.

3.3 Park Mark, the Safer Parking Award

Park Mark is an initiative of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO)

designed to reduce crime and the fear of crime within parking facilities. The
Safer Parking Award Scheme is managed by the British Parking Association
through Development Managers and supported by the Home Office, the
Scottish Executive and all the Police Forces in England, Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland. The primary aim of the scheme is to prevent criminal
behaviour within the parking environment. Owners/operators of a parking
facility are therefore required to adopt an active management strategy to
ensure minimal occurrence of crime.

After assessment, the Police can award Park Mark status to parking facilities
that are properly managed and maintained. These facilities will also have
achieved appropriate standards that contribute to reducing the opportunity for
crime, as follows;
a) Surveillance;
b) Lighting;
c) Signage;
d) Cleanliness.

The following car parks operated by WHBC have won this award:
 Hunters Bridge (Multi Storey) Car Park.
 Osborn Way Car Park
 Campus West Car Park in Welwyn Garden City

3.3 Off Street Parking Capacities and Tariffs

The web site provides details of the available car parks and their tariffs. 
http://www.welhat.gov.uk/transportstreets/parking/carparks/general 
Appendix 1 provides a useful summary of other information.

3
 

3.4 Communication Strategy

The council recognises traffic management and parking activities cannot

operate in a vacuum. Parking services’ officers meet with the police regularly –
normally every 4-6 weeks and consult as required on aspects of enforcement
and access with all emergency services.

In addition the department charged with community contacts undertakes house

to house surveys of 150 houses every 2 months as part of a community
relations and safety programme. In addition there are 2 public meetings per
annum as well as a recent forum to gauge satisfaction levels with council
services. Inevitably aspects relating to parking and other traffic or transport
issues are regularly raised and provide valuable feedback.

These initiatives form part of the borough’s community engagement

programme.

4) Services WHBC Provides

WHBC is responsible for enforcing the regulations determined by Hertfordshire

County Council to achieve the traffic management objectives. In practice this means
that the council is responsible for creating the relevant traffic regulation orders by
which enforcement is achieved. In addition duties include the following specific
responsibilities;
a) Parking permits (in House)
b) Dispensations and suspensions (via E Herts Council (EHC))
c) Parking enforcement requests (via EHC.)
d) Consultations with residents and other stakeholders
e) Parking enforcement (see 5.1)
f) Abandoned vehicles (Environmental Services (ES))
g) Environmental aspects relating to air quality, street cleanliness etc. (ES)

4.1 Dispensations and Suspensions

A parking dispensation allows a vehicle (normally commercial) to park on a

waiting restriction (yellow line) during restricted hours in circumstances where
the vehicle needs to be close to a specific location. This would include building
work where continuous access is required to load or unload goods, tools and
materials. Our current charge for the issue of a parking dispensation is £10 per
vehicle per 7 days.

A parking suspension allows a person to park for a specific reason in a

designated parking area during restricted hours. This would normally be for the
same reasons as for a dispensation.

The current charge for the issue of a parking suspension is £10 per 7 days.

Parking charges or restrictions will normally be waived for applications in

connection with funerals, weddings and domestic removals. In these
circumstances permission to park should be requested at least 48 hours in

4
 

advance and will be subject to assessment to ensure that a parked vehicle will
not cause an obstruction or be a hazard to other road users.

4.2 Abandoned vehicles

This service is intended to improve the environmental aspects of our

neighbourhoods by removing unsightly vehicles, which are reported to the
council. They can often be hazardous or dangerous.

5 The Services that Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) Provides

The county council is responsible for;

a) Road safety
b) Broader aspects of public transport provision and management
c) Skip hire
d) Blue badge issuance via social services
e) School crossing patrols
f) School keep clear markings
g)  Bus stop clearways

WHBC have the responsibility for the enforcement of e,f and g.

 
5.1 Contractual Arrangements Regarding Enforcement Activity

The council has an agency agreement with EHC to enforce on street and off
street parking controls. The agency agreement covers the provision of civil
enforcement officers (CEOs), (before TMA these were referred to as parking
attendants) together with the provision of services related to the processing of
penalty charge notices (PCNs). These processes include responding to all
correspondence, processing payments and the pursuit of outstanding
indebtedness. The enforcement activity is sub-contracted to APCOA.

6 Recent Changes and New Developments

6.1 Traffic Management Act 2004

The main practical impact of TMA 2004 for the motorist was the introduction of
differential charging. This change was made in response to a national, public
consultation which indicated that more serious contraventions such as parking
or loading and unloading where restrictions are in place should be at a higher
rate. Less serious contraventions that occur, for example in parking bays or in
off street car parks, should be at a lower rate.

Full details of the act and the related operational guidance are available from
the following links - http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/tpm/tmaportal/ and
http://www.dft.gov.uk/adobepdf/165240/244921/287508/468279/parkingenforce
policy.pdf

Targets that should be used for responses to correspondence were also

suggested and WHBC is pleased to state that both aspects have been in place

5
 

since inception of DPE, now CPE, and that the maximum targets have always
been achieved and that for much of the time the minimum targets have also
been met.

6.2 Current parking schemes

The council constantly reviews traffic management policies and enforcement

regimes in conjunction with HCC. We work to priorities approved by the
elected members and details are available on the council’s web site at
http://www.welhat.gov.uk/transportstreets/parking/residentpermitparkingscheme

The following schemes are currently in hand;

a) Priority 1; QE2 hospital; Phases 1 and 2 have already started (at time of
writing) and Phase 3 is due to commence on 28 September 2009 with a
consultation on a residents’ permit scheme.
b) Priority 2; Digswell and area around Welwyn North Railway Station.
c) Dropped kerbs and ‘double’ parking; in early September 2009 the council
agreed to take up the powers to enforce parking at dropped kerbs and
parking away from the kerb. The justification for this is that dropped kerbs
were introduced at considerable cost to enable those with disabilities e.g.
wheel chairs, families with pushchairs and disabled pedestrians to cross
roads more easily. Parking at these points prevents the proper use of such
facilities. Parking a distance from the kerb can cause obstruction as well as
narrowing road widths sometimes causing access problems for the
emergency services.
d) We have made available the additional 200 parking spaces that were
targeted for 2008-9

6.3 Developments

In conjunction with the HCC all waiting restrictions for map based Traffic
Regulation Orders (TROs) will shortly be available on the council’s web site for
the entire borough.

7 The PCN process

It is accepted that receiving a PCN is an emotive event. A recent Department for

Transport survey provided general support for the extent of enforcement regimes
and the way in which these are enforced by CEOs.
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/trsnstatsatt/parking )

The council has ensured that the service provided by EHC provides the best
possible service for those receiving a PCN.

The websites provided by the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT) also provide
independent confirmation of how to deal with a PCN. These are:.
www.trafficpenaltytribunal.gov.uk . and
http://www.patrol-uk.info/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=6

6
 

Detailed advice is also printed on the PCN and if relevant the Notice to Owner (NtO).
Additional information is included with the PATROL leaflet enclosed with every PCN.

The council undertakes that its agent will respond promptly to all correspondence. It
is important that this should include as much relevant information and evidence as
possible in order that the case can receive full assessment. Reasons and
exemptions which would lead to the cancellation of the PCN are provided within the
documentation and also on EHC’s website as well as that of the TPT. Challenges
may be submitted by email and on the telephone in some circumstances and
telephone assistance will be provided.

The council has ensured that payment can be made as conveniently as possible by
providing telephone payment facilities 24/7, payments on line via WHBC, in person
at the Campus Road East council offices or at the East Herts council offices at Pegs
Lane, Hertford.

8 Statistical Information

8.1 Summary of total PCNs issued

The chart provides an analysis of PCNs issued since 2005/6 and divides the
PCN volumes between on and off street.

 
*In 2005‐6 there was a ten month period not a full year.

In 2008/9 the figure is further subdivided by figures of higher level and lower
level contravention: higher level PCNs were 5,079 and lower level 2,503.

7
 

8.2 Challenges and representations received

The table provides details of the numbers of challenges and representations

received.

The performance will be kept under review as the trends warrant careful
monitoring and interpretation to see where performance can be improved.

8.3 Write offs and cancellations

It should be remembered that the cancellation of a PCN does not automatically

indicate that the PCN was invalidly issued.

A cancellation can be issued because the CEO could not have been in
possession of all the facts at the time of issuing the PCN. For example a
vehicle may have broken down, there may have been a medical emergency or
there may have been legitimate loading and/or unloading taking place although
the CEO saw no activity during the period within which the vehicle was being
observed.

The council monitors the performance of its contractor on a regular basis. It

believes that the levels of cancellations are at or below those of equivalent
councils. The information given relating to payment rates provides strong
supporting evidence of the quality of the tickets being issued.

Many of the cases which are written off are as a result of inaccurate or out of
date data being received from the DVLA relating to the keeper of the vehicle to
which a PCN was issued. Some PCNs are issued to foreign vehicles on the
basis that some are registered in the UK but also to enable the council to
provide details of such vehicles to the DVLA for monitoring and enforcement
purposes.

8
 

The following table sets out the council’s performance compared with other
neighbouring councils considered to be comparable.

Local Authority PCNs Paid Cancelled Live and/or

Issued PCNs PCNs written off PCNs
Cambridge 43,372 75% 19% 6%
Welwyn Hatfield 7,582 74% 11% 15%

Watford 22,925 70% 21% 9%

East Herts 26,996 69% 24% 7%
North Herts 12,492 67% 22% 11%
Dacorum 18,030 66% 28% 6%
Stevenage 5,988 66% 28% 6%

8.4 Appeals to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal

This process provides valuable independent assessment of the quality of PCNs

as well as the technical capacity of the back office processing.

The following table provides comparative data to a number of local authorities

providing a bench mark for performance. One of the frustrating parts of this
process is the cases that are not contested due to the fact that additional
evidence can be submitted by the vehicle owner/keeper after the point at which
this has been requested leading to unnecessary appeals.

No. of Rate of Not Allowed by Refused by Awaiting

appeals appeal contested Adjudicator (in Adjudicator decision
per PCN by favour of (in favour
council appellant). of Council)
Inc. not
Appeals contested
2008/09
National 12,424 0.31% 34% 62% 35% 3%
Picture
Cambridge 53 0.12% 23% 36% 62% 2%
North Herts 22 0.19% 32% 59% 41% 0%
Dacorum 42 0.23% 50% 64% 33% 2%
Welwyn 22 0.28% 14% 59% 36% 5%
Hatfield
East Herts 75 0.28% 12% 55% 44% 1%
Watford 89 0.39% 15% 51% 47% 2%
Stevenage 28 0.47% 21% 61% 36% 4%

8.5 Debt recovery and bailiff action

9
 

The recovery rate is expressed as a percentage of PCNs paid. Payments at the

discount rate are a strong indicator of the quality of the PCNs issued.
Comparative analysis indicates that our performance is very good.

 
 
The council is aware of the sensitive nature of debt recovery. Nevertheless the
only effective incentive for compliance with parking regulations laid down in
statute is financial. This is particularly true of those who persistently evade the
financial sanctions and our bailiffs are becoming increasingly sophisticated in
the measures used to enforce such debts. Fortunately the number of such
cases is relatively small.

In conclusion it is the council’s intention to undertake continuous improvements in

the performances set out above. Whilst external factors beyond the council’s control
occur from time to time we believe that this is a realistic goal.

9 Financial Information – the Parking Account

One of the common criticisms of parking enforcement is that it is just a money raising
exercise. TMA and earlier legislation made it clear that such activities must never be
used in this way. Monies raised by enforcement are ring fenced in the first instance
but if deficits occur then these are charged against the council’s revenues but may
be recovered from any future surpluses.

10
 

Only specific costs can be charged against the parking account, details of which are
given as follows:

Parking Account

2008-9
On Street £
Income
Residents'and Visitors Permits 3,425
PCN Income 220,936
Total Income 224,361

Expenditure
Contractors 274,956
Staff 84,424
Equipment maintenance
etc 5,589 364,969

Deficit incurred on street -140,608

Off
street
Income
PCN Income 15,380
Total Income 15,380

Expenditure
Contractors 19,115
Staff 5,870 24,985

Deficit incurred off street -9,605

Overall Deficit -150,213

WHBC incurs the following costs that may be charged against the parking account:

Subsidies to maintain rural bus

routes 65,221
Concessionary fare costs 860,349

-
Total attributable deficit 1,075,783

As can be seen the cost of concessionary fares is very significant but we believe that
this is an important service that the council provides for those in possession of
concessionary fare passes.

In addition the council has expended in excess of £500,000 to provide additional

parking spaces as referred to in section 6.2 above

11
 

10 Future Objectives

Ongoing investment will include:

 Making more information available on parking provision
 Ongoing review of the council’s web site
 Provision of a further 200 parking spaces in 2009-10
 Further review of disabled parking provision
 Revision of the council’s priority list for enforcement activity
 Continuing attention to the adequacy of signs and lines
 Extension of map based TROs

12
Appendix 1

Car Parks

Parent 
&  Pay 
Disabled  Time  No. Of  Child  Season  on 
Car Park  Area  Spaces  Limit spaces spaces  Tickets  foot 
Old
Batterdale "A" Hatfield N N
Old
Batterdale "B" Hatfield Y N
Old
Broadway Hatfield N N
Campus East Lower WHC 0 N 370 0 N N
Camput East Upper WHC 0 148 0 N N
Campus West WHC 4 N 355 0 20 Y
Church Road WHC 7 N 221 0 N Y
Dog Kennel Lane Hatfield Y N
High Street Welwyn Y Y
Hunters Bridge Multi
Storey WGC 18 N 660 6 N Y
Kennelwood Hatfield Y N
Link Drive Hatfield Y N
Lockleys Drive Welwyn Y N
Osborn Way WHC 0 N 401 0 N N
Old
Saisbury Square Hatfield N Y
The Commons Hatfield Y N
The Forum Hatfield N N
Titmus Yard Welwyn N N
Details of tariffs are provided on the web site 
All disabled parking is free in manned car parks. 

13
Appendix 2

Glossary of terms

Organisations and technical terms in the Report are given in full then
subsequently an abbreviation is used.
The glossary below, which is in alphabetical order, explains some terms and
phrases in the Annual Report that may be unfamiliar to you.

ABANDONED VEHICLE

WHBC has qualified staff to assess whether a vehicle can legitimately be

regarded as abandoned. Once identified these can be removed and destroyed.

APPEAL

An appeal is the technical term applied where an owner or keeper does not
accept the rejection of the representation made to WHBC at the NtO stage and
wishes the independent tribunal TPT to assess the case and make a binding
decision.

BAILIFF

WHBC via its agents appoints bailiffs to enforce payment of parking

indebtedness via the issue of a warrant of execution.

CHALLENGE

A challenge is an objection made against a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) before

the issue of a Notice to Owner.

DECRIMINALISED

In June 2005, parking enforcement was decriminalised across the Welwyn

Hatfield Borough Council. This meant that it was no longer a criminal offence to
park in breach of regulations. Enforcement of most of the on-street parking
regulations is now the sole responsibility of the Local Authority rather than of the
Police. Non-compliance is treated as a civil offence rather than a criminal
offence. Ultimately unpaid Penalty Charge Notices are pursued by debt collection
agencies, rather than through the criminal courts.

DIFFERENTIAL PARKING PENALTIES

This is the name given to the changes in the levels of charging for penalties
implemented by the Government on 31st March 2008 to make the system fairer.
Higher level charges apply to contraventions that are considered serious and
lower levels to those that are considered less serious.

14
Appendix 2

CANCELLATIONS

A PCN is cancelled when we consider that it has either been issued in error or
that there are exemptions or other factors including mitigation that means that the
case will be closed without accepting payment.

CHARGE CERTIFICATE

This is a statutory document, which is sent out to any registered keeper/owner

who has not submitted a representation or payment at the Notice to Owner stage
of the legal process applied to parking contraventions. By this document the
penalty charge is increased by 50%.

CIVIL ENFORCEMENT OFFICER (CEO)

This is a designated name given by the Traffic Management Act 2004 to those
officers engaged by councils to issue Penalty Charge Notices. CEOs (formerly
known as Parking Attendants) are employed through a specialist contractor.

CONTRAVENTION

A contravention is failure by a motorist to comply with traffic or parking

regulations.

CONTROLLED PARKING ZONE (CPZ)

This is an area where parking is restricted during certain times of the day. The
main aim of a CPZ is to ensure that parking spaces within the zone are managed
to balance the needs of residents and other motorists. In a CPZ the restrictions
are shown by signs placed on all vehicular entry points to the zone. Signs are
only required within the zone where the restrictions are different from those on
the entry signs. There will not usually be a sign for a yellow line where the
restrictions are the same as on the entry signs.

DRIVER AND VEHICLE LICENSING AGENCY (DVLA)

There are agency agreements in place to permit WHBC or its agents to obtain
details of keepers registered with DVLA for vehicles that appear to be
contravening regulations

MULTI-STOREY CAR PARK (MSCP)

A multi-storey car park is a building that has a number of floors or levels

designed specifically for vehicle parking.

15
Appendix 2

NOTICE TO OWNER (NtO)

A Notice to Owner is a statutory notice served by the authority to the person they
believe is the owner of a vehicle issued with a Penalty Charge Notice. This notice
is served for parking contraventions where a penalty issued by a CEO remains
unpaid after 28 days. Within 28 days of the Notice to Owner, the owner is
required to either:
• make payment of the full penalty charge; or
• make representations against liability for the charge.

National Parking and Adjudication Service (NPAS)

This organisation has been re-named as the Traffic and Penalty Tribunal (TPT)

OFF-STREET PARKING

Off-street parking facilities are those within car parks and construction of parking
spaces off road e.g. parking in areas on estate roads.

ON-STREET PARKING

On-street parking facilities are those by the kerbside within the highway.

ORDER FOR RECOVERY OF UNPAID PENALTY CHARGE

This is an order for recovery of an unpaid penalty charge which has been
registered with the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC). TEC is currently situated at
the County Court in Northampton and is the centre where unpaid penalty charges
are registered as debts at the County Court. This is an automated process, not
requiring, or allowing an appearance by any party and once registration has
taken place, the debt can be passed to a bailiff for collection of the outstanding
monies.

PARKING ATTENDANT (PA)

This is a designated name given by the Road Traffic Act 1991 to those officers
engaged by councils to issue Penalty Charge Notices. PAs (now known as Civil
Enforcement Officers, CEOs) may be employed directly by the council or through
a specialist contractor. When parking enforcement was the responsibility of the
Police, these officers were known as Traffic Wardens.

PAY ON FOOT

Pay on foot is a method of payment for parking in a car park bay whereby on
arrival the driver stops at the barrier, takes a ticket and parks their car. On
leaving, the driver inserts the ticket in a pay station and pays the parking charge.

16
Appendix 2

He/She then takes back the ticket, drives to the barrier, inserts the ticket and the
barrier lifts for exit.

PENALTY CHARGE NOTICE

This is a notice issued because a vehicle has allegedly contravened a parking

regulation. A Penalty Charge Notice must contain certain information, including a
description of the contravention alleged to have occurred.

REGISTERED KEEPER

This is the person or organisation recorded at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing
Agency (DVLA) as being the keeper of a vehicle. Under the concept of owner
liability, the registered keeper is presumed to be the owner of the vehicle for the
purposes of enforcement, appeal and debt recovery action.

REPRESENTATION

A representation is a challenge against a Penalty Charge Notice after a Notice to

Owner has been issued.

SPECIAL PARKING AREA (SPA)

This is an area in which most on-street parking contraventions have been

decriminalised. The area is established by a highway authority to enable the
Local Authority’s Civil Enforcement Officers to put parking controls in place.

TRAFFIC REGULATION ORDERS

These are the legal documents by which traffic and parking regulations are
determined and enforced.

TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT ACT 2004

This Act was implemented on 31st March 2008 and introduced a range of
measures including differential charges and some associated guidance for
councils and local authorities to follow.

TRAFFIC PENALTY TRIBUNAL (TPT)

This is the independent tribunal set up under TMA to adjudicate on parking and
traffic cases. It is staffed by judicially qualified staff with an administrative office
and publishes an Annual report on its work.

17
Appendix 2

WRITE-OFFS

A PCN is written-off when we are unable to pursue the penalty and need to close
the case without accepting payment. This may be when the DVLA has no
information about the registered keeper, or even after our bailiffs have attempted
to collect the debt without success.

18