UK Gov. Open consultation Private parking code of practice. (Closes 5th Sept 2025.)

[Crac]

Anyone was interested in providing feedback to the current government's open consultation private parking code of practice.


The issue is pretty complex... so the form is a bit of a monster.

The form is around 36 pages, or 36 questions. So be aware this could be about 3-6 hours if you spend 5-10 mins per question?
There is some background reading too.


At it's heart there are a few very important questions:
1. How long is do you need to get parked and enter payment. (The 5 minute rule)
2. What the fines should be for breaking terms of use.
3. What happens with enforcing the fines.
4. Contesting fines and mitigating circumstances.
5. Additional views.

Submissions closes 5th September. (1 week... I'm really sorry.)


link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/private-parking-code-of-practice

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If you want a little news story to go with this:

Excel Parking firm pays £10,240 after losing court appeal

Excel Parking loses a court case against 22-year-old Hannah Robinson for a second time.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Thanks in advanced.

 

[Falstaff]

Good call Crac... my local council is going to digital parking, and maintains that everbody now has a mobile phone, (especially old folk according to them) and a parking app, and perfect reception everywhere. Plus, they are introducing automatic emmissions based parking charges (which presumes their contractor's system can always access the DVLA database). Expect this of course to get rolled out across the UK at National Parks etc etc.

 

[Glow_worm]

@Falstaff And they wonder why the high street is dead!

 

[Pattree]

National Trust membership is useful for breaking longer journeys and parking around the coast.

No use in town or commuter parking.

I hadn’t realised how many people get fined.

Parking is all free here in Telford - but not the hospital. I’ve taken it up with the hospital trust and my MP which is a waste of electrons and won’t have any effect at all. The MP in the Telford constituency (next one over) is effective but cannot respond to me officially. On the other hand I can write congratulating him on his successes (as I see them) and feeding him my view, should it be reflected in his own constituency. I’ve had encouraging responses from his team.

 

[Crac]

Remember that car parks could change ownership. So if the new owner doesn't think the car park is earning enough money. Bad news all round.

 

[Falstaff]

Remember that car parks could change ownership. So if the new owner doesn't think the car park is earning enough money. Bad news all round.

The local council has/will encourage the private owner car parks to follow their lead in increasing prices, which of course they are happy to do. This time the owners (a Dubai firm) have jumped the gun and increased their 8+plus hours /overnight charge to £20. But not fixed the in-operative security cameras.

 

[Crac]

Parking fines: How to protect yourself from common scams

Four simple tips to make sure you don't fall victim to fake texts or payment demands from BBC expert Nick Stapleton.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[MrEd]

Good call Crac... my local council is going to digital parking, and maintains that everbody now has a mobile phone, (especially old folk according to them) and a parking app, and perfect reception everywhere. Plus, they are introducing automatic emmissions based parking charges (which presumes their contractor's system can always access the DVLA database). Expect this of course to get rolled out across the UK at National Parks etc etc.

Presumably all cars emit the same emissions when parked and switched off. I.E none…. Hows that work then?

 

[nigelp]

(which presumes their contractor's system can always access the DVLA database)

You can search a registration number on the web and find out what car it is and what emissions it produces.

 

[Falstaff]

The automated system requires you have to enter your registration - which accesses the DVLA database and charges you according to your logbook Co2 rating, the area band scale you are parking in, and the time /duration.
The parking wardens have linked devices that use anpr to check you have paid, plus a camaera car, and apparently parking wardens on scooters for the band areas further out.
If your vehicle does not have a DVLA CO 2 rating (e.g. historic cars and motorcycles) it charges you at the dirty transit higher rate!.
They've projected an extra income of £400K per year and that it will not affect traffic volumes as these have reduced to those compelled to come in for lack of a viable alternative, e.g town employed, London commuters, users of key services only available in town - like banks.
Another Amazon nail in the coffin of high street shops.

 

[Chris]

I filled out the quite lengthy survey, but then it errored at the point of submitting the form and lost everything I'd written. Brilliant.

Seems pretty consistent with what they tend to do with public feedback anyway.

 

[Crac]

Life pro tip: Close every program, restart your computer, and fill out or copy answers in a separate document.

Mobile phones are about taking away people ability to speak up.

 

[Tony]

When you have a document/form like that to fill out you're not really encouraging people to participate in the process, and knowing that they are determined to push through ideas that will raise money/further limit parking/movement means that they will push things through in one form or another.
We have awful issues with a couple of carparks on the coast near us so there's a particular beach we don't bother with any more because of it.
But to be fair, at the moment, general parking around towns near here isn't too bad, and there's some times where it's free.

 

[Paul_B]

Good call Crac... my local council is going to digital parking, and maintains that everbody now has a mobile phone, (especially old folk according to them) and a parking app, and perfect reception everywhere. Plus, they are introducing automatic emmissions based parking charges (which presumes their contractor's system can always access the DVLA database). Expect this of course to get rolled out across the UK at National Parks etc etc.

What area is this? Just so I can avoid it. I do not do parking apps or telephone parking payment. I have been known to drive in, find it has that app payment and then drive straight out and move on to the next parking place / town.

 

[Paul_B]

@Falstaff And they wonder why the high street is dead!

Out of town shopping, the new high street!!! Of course if you ever listen to the Westminster lot, talking head experts and southern news media outlets there is a beacon of light created by the visionary town mayor of Stockton on Tees!!! His vision of the high street is visionary don;'t you know!! It is just a shame that everyone living in Stockton or who came from there and visit it occasionally all think he is a **** who ripped the heart out of the high street making the last big retailers flee. It is a shoping desert with a few shops left. The only growth in that high street is vaping shops, betting shops and charity shops. BTW I lied about the charity shops, even they are having to shut down. I kid you not, a long established charity shop closed down a year or so ago.

Sorry for the rant. Extra sorry if that has a hint of politicisation about it but I have never seen the Stockton market when it was actually good but I do recall it when it had some proper shops there. An arcade with a large Boots in (no Boots in the town), A decent sized Debenhams (ok not Stocktons fault) and several more.

 

[Chris]

The big council-owned car park in Scunthorpe town centre has two hours of free parking, in order to encourage people to come and shop on the high street.

And guess what? It’s quite a busy high street by today’s standards.

Meanwhile in Leeds I was having to pay £20 to park for work, the claim from the council being that it ‘encourages public transport usage’. The M621 of a morning/afternoon will tell you how successful that has been.

 

[Glow_worm]

That's happened in a town local to me too- used to be free parking, council introduced charges, businesses went downhill and a few closed. An hour's free parking and things picked back up.

You'd think these things would be obvious, wouldn't you?

 

[Falstaff]

What area is this? Just so I can avoid it. I do not do parking apps or telephone parking payment. I have been known to drive in, find it has that app payment and then drive straight out and move on to the next parking place / town.

Ditto Paul,, Don't go to Reading town then. Bracknell, Wokingham, and the out of town supermarkets and big names are fine.

The Net Zero ideology chant is "Net Zero does not permit free parking" - as quoted by the lead Councillor for Transport & Climate Change in Reading.
But Net Zero is a theoretical ultimate concept that cannot be physically achieved, it is not meant to be used as a rigid rulebook.