A version of SignPlot that can spell check traffic signs and determine how big they should was launched at Parkex and Traffex 2013. Simon Morgan, managing director of Buchanan Computing, says: “Everyone thinks they can spell, but it is surprisingly common for signs to be erected with embarrassing mistakes, particularly of place names unfamiliar to those involved. SignPlot 2.60 helps to avoid this by linking to the Microsoft Word spelling dictionary. This has the advantages of being...

Westminster is set to “re-align” the way it runs parking services, with two new style contracts to be split between technology and “people and resources”. The council plans to re-structure its outsourcing model when its current contracts expire next year. The parking and CCTV contract with NSL Services ends in June 2014 while the back office processing contract with Serco ends in November 2014. The new structure will allow potential contract savings of nearly £3m...

With their Guy Fawkes masks and penchant for following CCTV enforcement cars on motorcycles, the NoToMob have carved out a niche as anti-parking activists on television programmes such as the recent BBC?series Parking Mad. The NoToMob was formed to challenge fees levied on motorcycle parking in the City of Westminster, but has broadened its focus to cover parking enforcement across the UK. Last year the campaign visited  Parkex and unfurled a large banner warning the exhibitors they are...

Properly managed parking can be a boon to local economies and the environment, local transport minister Norman Baker said in a recorded address shown at Parkex. “Providing it is managed effectively, it can work for all of us. I welcome the take-up of civil enforcement by councils and it is a good example of localism in action. Parking can provide the two strands the government is keen to promote, in terms of economic growth on the one hand, and cutting congestion and emissions.”...

The London Borough of Islington has introduced virtual permits as an alternative to printed displays for residents, visitors and businesses. As there is no tangible permit displayed in the car, enforcement of the scheme depends on scanning vehicle registration marks using automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology. The system used in Islington employs a patrol vehicle equipped with ANPR cameras, which scans number plates to distinguish between vehicles that are registered and those...

When John Galsworthy took charge of Islington’s parking operation he faced the unenviable challenge of cutting costs while improving customer care. When parking and business services were merged in April 2010 the council turned to Galsworthy to oversee the new department. His remit to improve efficiency came just as the new coalition government was unveiling plans to cut local authority funding. Galsworthy previously led the inner London borough’s public realm business service, and...

A photo of George Osbourne getting into a Range Rover parked in a disabled bay became one of the most controversial images of the past few months. News that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had abused a bay reserved for people with impaired mobility became a lightning rod for critics of the government’s decision to cut a range of benefits. The shot was taken just days ahead of the enactment of significant cuts in welfare benefits, including those received by disabled people. It also...

In America they have not one but three major parking events each year. Two are organised respectively by the National Parking Association and the International Parking Institution while the third is organised by the publishers of the magazine Parking Today and is called the Parking Industry Exhibition or PIE. This is a combined trade show and conference and I was invited to take part in this year’s event, which was held at the grandly named Donald E Stephens Convention Centre (the eighth...

Paul Caddy has joined bailiff enforcement and debt collection firm Phoenix after 13 years as a director at Marston Group. He will take on a broad role at Phoenix, which will include testing the firm’s internal and external operational processes and procedural systems. He will work closely with the company’s directors to address specific areas of weakness within the business. Caddy is the current president of civil enforcement association CIVEA and is an industry representative on...

Reducing dangerous parking outside schools, kerbing speeding in residential neighbourhoods and implementing civil parking enforcement are some of the themes that will be discussed in the next of Landor LINKS’ annual Enforcement Summits. This year's event will examine the factors that shape the behaviour of motorists and their perception of enforcement regimes. It will explore how driver education can be used alongside enforcement, deploying  attendants and CCTV systems to improve...

A Conservative councillor has defected to UKIP in protest over plans by New Forest District Council to scrap free parking for Blue Badge holders. Chris Lagdon resigned from the council’s ruling Tory group and has  become the sole UKIP councillor. He said: “This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The council has introduced parking charges for disabled people to make money. As a lifelong Conservative this was a hard decision, but I cannot be associated with a party...

London property maintenance firm Aspect.co.uk is hiring unemployed young people with clean licences to act as ‘car sitters’ on Transport for London’s Red Routes. Trials in Westminster have been “incredibly successful”, said Will Davies, boss of Aspect.co.uk. Aspect.co.uk said it is planning to roll out a ‘car sitting’ service for the public in the autumn. The car sitters take the driver seat while the Aspect worker attends premises and conducts property...

Councils should be more lenient when enforcing High Street parking as a way of boosting local trade, communities secretary Eric Pickles told the Conservative Spring Forum. Pickles warned that  ‘over-zealous’ enforcement damaged trade as motorists are penalised for popping into high street shops. He said: “I believe we need to give people the good grace to pop into a local corner shop for 10 minutes, to buy a newspaper or a loaf of bread without risking a £70...

The British Parking Association (BPA) is carrying out a review of the Parking on Private Land Appeals (POPLA) service just six months after its launch, following complaints from enforcement operators. The association has appointed its honorary treasurer John McArdle to carry out the review. POPLA is run for the BPA by London Councils, which provides the Parking & Traffic Appeals Service (PATAS) for the capital’s on-street, bus lane and road user charging schemes. On 26 March the...

Private land enforcement firm VP Parking Solutions has been expelled from the British Parking Association (BPA) and has had its membership of the Approved Operator Scheme (AOS) terminated. The BPA said the firm had been unable to comply with its Code of Professional Conduct. “This means that VP Parking Solutions will no longer be able to make requests to the DVLA for information held by them on the vehicle and keeper registers,” said a statement published by the BPA. “This is...

The number of cyclists injured after being hit or trying to avoid a suddenly opened car door has risen to 593 in 2011, up from 468 in 2009, a rise of nearly a quarter in two years. The figures revealed in a House of Commons written answer by transport minister Steven Hammond show that in 2011 one cyclist was killed, and of the 593 injuries to cyclists, 92 were serious, with 501 slight injuries. Two years previously, 55 cyclists were seriously injured while 413 received injuries described as...

A group of NSL civil enforcement officers (CEOs) working on behalf of Adur & Worthing Council took a break from their usual parking enforcement duties on 12 March to clear snow from roads and pavements. Sixteen of NSL?s employees helped keep businesses open and traffic moving as the snow set in on the south coast. Mandy Ainsworth, parking services manager at Adur & Worthing Council, said: ?Parking services is not only about enforcement, it is also about being part of the local community and...

Parking enforcement contractor NSL has named Sandra Cove and Yasar Mohamad as its Employees of the Year. Each civil enforcement officer (CEO) received £1,000 from NSL chief executive Mark Underwood. Civil enforcement officer Sandra Cove, who works on behalf of Westminster City Council, was part of the successful Olympic Route Network (ORN) team, which controlled parking restrictions so effectively on the route. Often working additional hours to cover staff at short notice, she was...

West Yorkshire Police has lost its appeal over the costs of policing home matches at Leeds United’s Elland Road stadium. The Court of Appeal told the force that they were not entitled to charge the club for policing outside land owned or controlled by the club. This follows a change in policy by West Yorkshire Police and ACPO for the 2009/2010 season, which meant that instead of charging for policing at the stadium, West Yorkshire Police sought to charge for an “extended...