New parking laws could see chaos for drivers on car parks as fine prices set to change

The British Parking Association (BPA) is calling on the Government to reconsider proposals to drastically lower the level of parking charges to avoid seriously hampering the UK’s economic recovery. The Government has proposed to reduce the cap on private parking charges for the most common breaches.

This would be from the current level of £100 to £50 outside London and £80 inside London.

Currently, parking fines are reduced to £60 for early payment, but under new proposals would see fines reduced to £25 if paid within 14 days.

According to Mazars, the Government proposals would mean 23 percent of currently managed private parking spaces would no longer be managed.

This will mean that many destinations will become increasingly congested and inaccessible, and many commuters and shoppers will no longer be able to access transport modes, retail, or leisure destinations.

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“The majority simply want to park, abide by the rules, do their business and leave the car park without incident.

“If drivers are flagrantly breaching terms and conditions, then it’s right they suffer the consequences but parking operators should always be following the standards set out.

“If a driver feels they’ve been treated unfairly then they should appeal, and ideally their case should be reviewed by a single, independent appeals system which will hopefully be part of the new Parking Code of Practice due later this year.”

The Government has pledged a crackdown on ‘cowboy’ firms with a new Code of Practice for the private parking industry.  

The proposed legislation is still awaiting ministerial sign-off but it aims to clamp down on some of the ruthless firms that run thousands of car parks at hospitals, shopping centres and train stations.