Background and the story so far …………………..
1st April 2011
Powys County Council took over responsibility for Civil Parking Enforcement from Dyfed Powys Police. 9 new Civil Enforcement Officers (parking wardens) were appointed to police CPE, issue tickets etc.
The powers and responsibilities of this assumption of powers is outlined in the document (Prohibition and Restriction of Waiting and Loading and Parking Places) (Civil Enforcement and Consolidation) Order 2011
3rd May 2011
Campaign for a Realistic Approach to Parking in Powys (CRAP) “started in Hay-on-Wye. CRAP is a forum for residents and traders throughout Powys to voice their concerns about Powys County Council's adoption in April 2011 of Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) throughout the county”.
9th May 2011
An on-line petition started to find out local reaction to Powys County Council’s assumption of CPE in the county and called for:
Powys County Council to bring forward by 6 months their plans to commence work on a county wide review of traffic management and residents’ parking schemes and start preparatory work in September 2011 so that the full review can be completed before the Council elections and when the current moratorium on spending ends in April 2012.
Over the following month, with support from Presteigne and Machynlleth communities, more than one thousand people signed the petition which was presented to Powys County Council on
14th July 2011.
14th July 2011
At a Powys County Council meeting it was noted the portfolio holder Councillor Geraint Hopkins had stated that "The intention is to allow Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) to settle down for a twelve month period during which time the outcomes of more frequent and targeted enforcement will become apparent” and that "it is anticipated that the review will generally commence in April 2012.”
The following motion was proposed:
“From September 2011 this Council will start to work on the feasibility of a residents' parking policy with the assistance of the scrutiny committee. Also a review of parking restrictions, traffic management and off street parking with consultation with key stake holders such as Town and Community Councils and Chambers of Trade so when the moratorium is expected to be lifted in April 2012 and the Council will be able to move forward from this earlier point in 2012.”
The motion was carried and the Portfolio Holder agreed to bring forward the first stage of the review to September 2011 and advised that he hoped to develop a new parking and exceptions policy and was happy to work with the Environment and Crime and Disorder Scrutiny Committee on the issue.
11th September 2011
After discussions with interested parties throughout Powys, CRAP published its proposals for Traffic flow, safety and parking in Hay-on-Wye on its blog. The proposals were the culmination of some six months work to determine public reaction in Hay-on-Wye to existing parking restrictions and explore local ideas for the best approach to the town’s particular needs.
11th October 2011
A meeting was held at Powys County Council Headquarters Offices at Llandrindod Wells between a representative of CRAP, (The Campaign for a Responsible Approach to Parking) supported by Councillor Gareth Ratcliffe (Powys County Councillor for Hay-on-Wye) and Councillor Geraint Hopkins (Powys County Council Cabinet Member and Portfolio Holder Environment and Regulation, responsible for Traffic and Parking) together with Phil Jackson, (Powys Transportation and Development Control Manager) and Kevin Lloyd (Powys Car Parks Manager).
The meeting, originally scheduled for September was CRAP’s opportunity to present its proposals for Traffic flow, safety and parking in Hay-on-Wye.
The campaign offered to provide any further information or assistance that might be needed in the future and hoped that the plan that was produced from a specific need in Hay-on-Wye, could be used a blueprint for a prospective county wide policy.
The meeting culminated in the Portfolio Holder Councillor Geraint Hopkins promising to respond to the campaign’s proposals in detail by the beginning of December.
December 2011
Councillor Gareth Ratcliffe, Hay-on-Wye’s local councillor reported that he had been told that Councillor Hopkins and the officers will be unable to respond as promised in December – but “will do so in the New Year” !
26th January 2012
Crap forwarded the following email to Councillor Geraint Hopkins, copied to various parties including Roger Williams MP and Kirsty Wiliams AM
A CRAP email to Councillor Garaint Hopkins and Powys County Council Officers Phil Jackson and Kevin Lloyd.
Can we have an update please!
I hope you will recall the meeting held at Powys County Council Headquarters Offices on Tuesday 11th October last year between a representative of CRAP, (The Campaign for a Responsible Approach to Parking) Councillor Gareth Ratcliffe (Powys County Councillor for Hay-on-Wye) and yourselves, Councillor Geraint Hopkins and Powys County Council Officers Phil Jackson and Kevin Lloyd.
The meeting, originally planned for September, was the campaign’s opportunity to present CRAP’s proposals for Traffic flow, safety and parking in Hay-on-Wye, the culmination of some six months work to determine public reaction in Hay-on-Wye to existing parking restrictions and explore local ideas for the best approach to the town’s particular needs.
At the meeting, we were pleased to receive your assurance that our proposals would receive your consideration and you will recall that you promised to respond to us in detail by the beginning of December.
Since that time, although we have received no direct communication from you, we understand that you informed Councillor Gareth Ratcliffe that you would be unable to respond to us by the promised date, but instead would come back to us in January.
It is now almost the end of January and our campaign has rather been overtaken by Plan B for Hay’s campaign against the imposition of a supermarket on the present school site in Hay. We understand from the campaign however that parking remains a very important and contentious issue for traders, residents and visitors to the town.
More than three months have passed since our meeting and we would be most grateful if you could provide us with an update of the present situation. If you intend to ignore our proposals, we should similarly like to know.
Your planned ‘consolidation order’ scheduled for April 1st 2012, the first anniversary of the council taking over responsibility for Civil Parking Enforcement is fast approaching, as are elections for both the town and county councils. We are publicising this letter on our blog and distributing it to various interested parties.
We look forward to the courtesy of your responding to this email.
27th January 2012
The following email was received from Kirsty Williams AM
Thank you very much for your email below and for copying me into your letter to Cllr Hopkins. I am aware that parking is still a very important issue for Hay and other towns across Powys and recently wrote to Cllr Hopkins for an update on the Council’s actions. I will of course be happy to copy you into the response I receive and in the meantime please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of further assistance.
Kind regards,
KirstyKirsty Williams AM/AC
Assembly Member for Brecon and Radnorshire
29th January 2012
The following email was received from Councillor Geraint Hopkins in answer to our email of Friday last. The email was copied to Councillor Steve Holdaway, Head of Local & Environmental Services, Powys County Council.
I am still moving forward slowly with the area reviews and other work on Civil Parking Enforcement. I certainly am not ignoring your proposals. Actually it is the opposite. Your proposals along with others from other parts of the County are forming the basis of the review. Unfortunately due to lack of resource this is not progressing as quickly as I would have liked and I haven't any money in my budget to bring in any outside help. I will contact you again when I have firm dates for various aspects of the review.
Regards
Geraint
12th March 2012
The following email was sent to Councillor Geraint Hopkins and copied to Roger Williams MP; Kirsty Williams AM; Councillor E M Jones OBE, Councillor Gareth Ratcliffe and various other interested parties. It was also published on the crap blog. (crap-powys.blogspot.com)
Dear Councillor Hopkins
It is now almost one year to 1st April 2012, the first anniversary of Powys taking over control of Civil Parking Enforcement from the police.
1. Prior to April 1st last year, you stated that the purpose of taking over CPE responsibility was to:
Improve Safety.
Reduce the misuse of disabled parking bays.
Improve conditions for all road-users, particularly pedestrians and disabled people.
Reduce parking problems, especially around schools and in residential areas.
Improve public transport reliability and journey times.
After almost one year of becoming responsible for enforcing this policy can you provide any evidence of it meeting its wholly admirable aims?
You will hopefully recall the six months work that we, the Campaign for a Responsible Approach to Parking (CRAP) and the Hay-on-Wye community in producing outline proposals for Traffic flow, safety and parking in Hay-on-Wye. We hoped the plan might be used a blueprint for a prospective county wide policy.
On 11th October last year you will recall our meeting (postponed at your request from September) at the Powys County Council Offices in Llandrindod Wells at the end of which meeting you promised to respond to the campaign’s proposals “in detail by the beginning of December”.
Although we received no direct communication from you, in January 2012, we understand that you informed Councillor Gareth Ratcliffe that you would be unable to respond to us by the promised date, but instead “would come back to us in January”.
In response to further emails forwarded among others to Kirsty Williams AM, on January 29th 2012, you sent us an email in which you told us that you were “certainly not ignoring” our proposals. “actually it is the opposite” our “proposals along with others from other parts of the County are forming the basis of the review.” You explained that lack of money was not allowing you to make speedier progress but promised to contact us again when you had “firm dates for various aspects of the review.
Since that date, six weeks ago, we have heard nothing from you.
2. Can you please tell us whether any further progress will be made on your plans or our proposals before the elections scheduled for May 3rd?
3. On 15th May 2011, I emailed a request for a Residents’ Parking Permit on the lines outlined in Section 4 item 80. of the (Prohibition and Restriction of Waiting and Loading and Parking Places) (Civil Enforcement and Consolidation) Order 2011. I have never received the courtesy of an answer to that request. Can you please explain why?
4. At the County Council meeting of July 14th, in response to Motion CC84-2011, proposed by Councillor Gareth Ratcliffe, you confirmed a decision to bring forward the first stage of the review. How far has the review been brought forward as a result of that promise?
5. Will the promised deadline of April 1st 2012 be met for the introduction of your ‘consolidation order’?
I understand that on March 19th Powys County Council will go into ‘Purdah’ and after that date we should expect no response to any questions we may have until after the elections on May 3rd. Would you kindly respond to our questions before that date.
Regards
Campaign for a Realistic Approach to Parking
16th March 2012
The following email was received from Councillor Geraint Hopkins and addressed to CRAP and copied to Roger Williams MP, Kirsty Williams AM, Cllr Gareth Ratcliffe and numerous others.
This and the following email were published on our blog and our comments (in red) added.
Thank you for your e-mail.
Firstly may I give you a synopsis of the history of Civil Parking Enforcement in Powys.
At the Board meeting on the 15th July 2008, Cllr G.T.Evans, the then portfolio holder, presented a paper on the Adoption of Civil Parking Enforcement in Powys. This was as a result of the Council being told in no uncertain circumstances by Dyfed/Powys Police that they would be relinquishing their responsibility for on-street parking from 1st April 2011.
As a result the Board made the decision to go down the route of Civil Parking Enforcement. Can you imagine the chaos that would have ensued in places like Hay-on-Wye during the tourist season without any form of on-street parking management?
I took on the portfolio for Highways and Transport on the 18th May 2010. On the 27th July, I presented a paper to the Board asking for approval to submit an application to the then Welsh Assembly Government, setting out how the Authority would use its powers.In that report it stated that "The environmental benefits of adopting CPE powers will arise from an improvement in parking enforcement, reducing traffic delays on-street and ensuring parking capacity off-street. Local control will help to prevent the abuse of Traffic Regulation Orders put in place by the Council and will improve the monitoring of disabled parking facilities."
This approval was granted by Board, (Incidentally your local member, Cllr Gareth Ratcliffe was one of the two Conservative party members on the Board at that time), and consequently CPE was adopted as of the 1st April 2011.Originally the plan was to review how CPE was working after one year and make amendments as necessary.
After a lot of public interest in CPE, especially from the Hay-on-Wye area, I made the decision on the 1st July 2011, two weeks before Cllr Ratcliffe's motion to Council, to commence the review straight away. Which I did. That review has been on-going since.
I met with you and Cllr Ratcliffe on the 11th October, which you most rightly state, where you presented your proposals for Hay-on-Wye, which I received and gave you my assurance that they would be taken into consideration as part of the review.
As a matter of fact the question of a Resident's Parking Permit had not been considered prior to that. (EDITOR: It is perhaps appropriate to note that Powys County Council (Prohibition and Restiction of Waiting and Loading and Parking Places)(Civil Enforcement and Consolidation Order 2011) the basis of the council's adoption of Civil Parking Enforcement on April 1st 2011 states [Page 30 section 4 CONDITIONS AS TO PERMITS AND CERTIFICATES]
Classes of Vehicles for which permits are applicable
78. Subject to the provisions of this Order, permits may be issued to classes of vehicles being Passnger Vehicles, Light Goods Vehicles, Motor Cycles and Disabled Persons’ vehicles.
Use of parking Permits and Dispensation Certificates
79. A Parking Permit or Dispensation Certificate shall only be valid for use in a Parking Place on a road as identified on the Parking Permit and specified on the Plans.)
Unfortunately since then due to a problem with resource, (not money as you state in your e-mail), the review has not progressed as well as I would have wanted. (EDITOR: Money has before now, or the lack of it, been the excuse offered! I quote from an email received from Councillor Hopkins dated 29th January 2012 “Unfortunately due to lack of resource this is not progressing as quickly as I would have liked and I haven't any money in my budget to bring in any outside help.”)
I told you at our meeting that I would use your study to influence the review, which I have. I also told you that any changes would be County wide and not area specific, although various anomalies would be rectified. As far as your request for a Resident's parking permit, I apologise if no one responded to you, but seeing as we don't currently have a Resident's Parking Scheme, I don't see how you could have expected to receive an application form for one! (EDITOR: Powys County Council (Prohibition and Restiction of Waiting and Loading and Parking Places)(Civil Enforcement and Consolidation Order 2011) states [Page 30 section 4 CONDITIONS AS TO PERMITS AND CERTIFICATES]Entitlement to and application for Parking Permits
80. Any person who is the Owner of a vehicle of the class specified may apply to the Council for the issue of a Parking Permit in respect of that vehicle and any such application shall be made on a form issued by and obtainable from the Council and shall include the particulars and information required by such a form to be supplied.)
I have today received in very rough draft form, from my officer, a policy for taking car parking management forward. Obviously this isn't going to be considered during the lifetime of this Council, so it will be the responsibility of the new administration to implement if they see fit.
From my own point of view, I have supported your proposed changes to the parking arrangements in Hay-on-Wye and the introduction of some form of County wide resident's parking scheme, but that doesn't mean that whoever takes over the Cabinet portfolio after the elections will be of the same mind.
Kind Regards,
Geraint
Cllr Geraint G Hopkins(Cabinet member for Environment and Regulation)
19th March 2012
The following email was received from the office of Roger Williams MP. The email was copied to Kirsty Williams AM, Cllr Gareth Ratcliffe and various other interested parties.
Thank you for copying us in on your e-mail and response from Cllr Hopkins, this is just a short note to ask if you would like Roger to assist in any way. I understand that my colleague James Gibson Watt had previously communicated with you on this but as you may know James no longer works for Roger unfortunately.
Please let me know if there is anything specific you would like us to do. Bearing in mind that due to the upcoming elections as from today Purdah starts meaning that the Councillors are limited to what duties they are allowed to carry out.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards
Debbie Williams
Office Manager for Roger Williams MP
Brecon & Radnorshire
4 Watergate, Brecon, Powys, LD3 9AN
Tel: 01874625739
Web: http://www.rogerwilliams.org.uk
20th March 2012
The following email from Councillor Geraint Hopkins was forwarded to all Powys County Councillors. This email and our comments (added in red) were distributed to our email list and published on our blog.
From Cllr Geraint Hopkins, Cabinet Member for Environment and Regulation -
Fw: Review of Civil Parking Enforcement
Members,
You are all aware that on the 1st April 2011 the Authority took over responsibility for on-street traffic management from the Dyfed/Powys police. At that time I stated that we would review how it was working and any changes that may be required in April 2012. In July of last year I said I would bring the review forward six months in order for a new policy to be developed and implemented and the consequent new Traffic Regulation Orders published this April.
Unfortunately due to a shortage of resource this hasn't happened as I had planned. I and my Head of Service are now being lobbied by some members for short term solutions to parking problems to be implemented before the forth coming election. (EDITOR: That is just a bit rich! Councillors' responsibilities are first and foremost to their electorate and of course, secondly to the county as a whole. There is no evidence of Councillor short-termism, they are merely looking after the interests of those they represent, as they were elected to do!) I have only today received a very rough draft of a policy to take CPE forward. It would be impossible to get this document in any sort of shape to take to Cabinet before the election. (EDITOR: It's not that we don't believe you, it would however be useful to see the rough draft.)
I do not believe it would be fair or equitable to all Councillors, or the areas they represent across Powys, to try and attempt ad hoc adjustments to parking in certain towns at this time. It is therefore my intention to defer any decision on the future policy for on or off street parking until after the election. This will allow the policy to be developed in a timely, thorough manner and implemented by the new Cabinet member, whoever that may be!
Regards,
Geraint
Cllr Geraint G Hopkins(Cabinet member for Environment and Regulation)
(EDITOR: We think that email speaks for itself – procrastination, obfuscation and sheer ineptitude are the first things that come to mind!)
22nd March 2012
The Powys County Council whitelining team arrived in Hay-on-Wye and started to renew parking bay and parking restriction markings whilst discussions with the Council were still in hand. Particular problems were caused by the team painting new lines on streets where to that point, restrictions, considered impractical or dangerous if fully applied, had not been enforced.
Frantic discussions between residents, Cllr Gareth Ratcliffe County Councillor for Hay ward Jeremy Patterson, Chief Executive of Powys County Council and Steve Holdaway Head of Local & Environmental Services at Powys County Council resulted in the following emails and promises from the Council:
“no immediate enforcement action will be taken against residents following the re-lining/boxing of parking space in Bear Street.” “… fully appreciate the impression new lines will have created and the timing is most unfortunate”
“Please accept my apologies for any anxiety we have caused ………………….. we will be considering ………. parking issues as part of the review to be conducted from April.”
Following more concerns from the community, a second email was sent to Cllr Ratcliffe, an extract from which reads:
“………… no further work will be done in Hay until we've reviewed Car parking.”
24th March 2012 First Freedom of Information Request submitted requesting details of costs and income for the first year of Powys County Council’s running of Civil Parking Enforcement
24th March 2012 Second Freedom of Information Request submitted requesting information about total costs for Powys of assuming Civil parking Enforcement powers on April 1st 2011.
1st April 2012 The First anniversary of Powys County Council assuming responsibility for Civil Parking Enforcement
We have been promised much but little has been delivered. Hopefully, both re-elected and new Powys County Councillors will see the way forward to tackle this issue which is so important to so many of the electorate.
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