Government officials have raised the prospect of forcing local authorities to offer residents the option of paying for parking by cash rather than just over the Internet.
A discussion document released by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) outlines a range of topics for debate including whether offering residents only cashless payments options might be preventing people from paying for parking.
The documents asks individuals, companies, councils and groups: ‘Should there be an obligation for local authorities to offer the ability to pay for parking by cash within a reasonable distance of where they have parking (for example via ticket machines or via local shops)?’
Cashless parking systems allow residents to pay using their mobile phone or other Internet enabled devices and are becoming increasingly common across the country.
Other issues that were raised included how the government can use parking to best 'support local shops and high streets' and the controversial practices of some parking companies when imposing charges or levying penalties when a driver overstays in a private parking space.
The document asks: ‘Do you think there are problems with how parking on private or public land is regulated, or the behaviour of private parking companies?’
The document follows media reports suggesting the DCLG intends to clamp down on private parking companies levying 'excessive' charges after the RAC Foundation claimed hundreds of thousands of drivers could have been illegally penalised for parking too long on private land.
The RAC Foundation recently published a legal opinion by John de Waal QC of Hardwicke Chambers, arguing many of the extra parking charges were 'unconscionable' and 'unenforceable' as they had demanded arbitrary amounts rather than genuine pre-estimates of the losses caused.
The advice was made available to the legal team of Barry Beavis who is fighting a test case against ParkingEye on similar grounds.
The case was heard on 24 February 2015 at the Court of Appeal and the judgment is still awaited.
The government discussion document comes after responsibility for policy relating to off-street parking was transferred from the Department for Transport to the DCLG in March this year.
All responses should be submitted by 27 May 2015, and can be submitted via an online form here.
