Council parking charge hike judged illegal

23 Jul 13
The London Borough of Barnet unlawfully increased its car parking charges in a bid to use them as a means to raise revenue, a judge has found.

By Mark Smulian | 23 July 2013

The London Borough of Barnet unlawfully increased its car parking charges in a bid to use them as a means to raise revenue, a judge has found.

In a High Court ruling yesterday, Mrs Justice Lang said it was not permissible for councils to use charges as a source of general income, even if the money is intended to pay for other transport schemes.

The case was brought in the High Court by a local resident David Attfield, who objected to the prices charged for residents’ and visitors’ permits in the controlled parking zone in which he lived.

He argued that Barnet had improperly used Section 45 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to generate a surplus beyond the money needed to operate the parking scheme.

However, Barnet argued the Act allowed it to raise extra money to spend on transport projects.

The judge ruled the legislation ‘is not a fiscal measure and does not authorise the authority to use its powers to charge local residents for parking in order to raise surplus revenue for other transport purposes funded by the general fund’.

She said that had been Barnet’s intention and that ‘purpose was not authorised under the RTRA 1984 and therefore the decision was unlawful’.

Responding to the decision, Barnet Council leader Richard Cornelius said: ‘I very much believe that our spending of the income from our parking account on items such as road maintenance and transport services is entirely within the scope of the special parking account under the Road Traffic Act.

‘With that in mind I don’t think we have any alternative but to look to appeal this decision.’

Cornelius admitted that after a five-year freeze, Barnet had raised the price of parking permits ‘too abruptly and rather charmlessly’. He added that this would not happen again.

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