A shake-up in the UK’s parking sector is now underway. The British Parking Association (BPA) has helped put together a new panel that will clean up our parking code of practice and crack down on unfair parking fines.
The panel’s been dubbed the Private Parking Scrutiny and Advice Panel (PSSAP) – and its main focus is to oversee a reform to the private parking sector’s Single Code of Practice by April 2025. However, it’ll also regularly meet with motorists to hear their concerns about private parking providers and enforce a consistent set of sanctions to ensure the code is correctly applied.
One of the catalysts for panel’s formation was the controversial ‘five-minute payment rule.’ This is a consideration period, designed to give you enough time to pay for your parking. Currently, the minimum amount of time providers are allowed to offer is five minutes, after which they’re within their right to fine you. But five minutes isn’t always enough – especially if you have mobility issues.
You can even spend five minutes figuring out how to pay for your parking, as proved by the high-profile case reported on the BBC of a woman who exceeded the five-minute rule trying to pay for her parking using the provider’s smartphone app, after she realised the car park’s physical payment machines were broken. The parking firm fined her almost £2,000 for exceeding its grace period.
The PPSAP is tackling this issue as a matter of urgency and aims to have a reform in place for the five-minute rule by February 2025.
What is the purpose of the PPSAP?
Chiefly, it’ll keep the private parking sector in check, regularly assess the Code of Practice, compensate for changes in technology (such as app-based payment methods) and – most importantly – protect consumers. Here’s a brief rundown the panel’s aims:
- Oversee the private parking sector’s Single Code of Practice
- Improve parking standards by ensuring the Code is applied fairly
- Deploy a set of sanctions to enforce rational application of the Code
- Improve transparency and increase confidence in the sector
- Monitor the consistency of decisions made in parking disputes
Current data from the BPA suggests 99.77% of parking events occur without disputes – but reports in the media suggest the disputes that do happen are rather severe. Hence the formation of the panel and the desire to improve standards.
Andrew Pester, Chief Executive of the British Parking Association said: ‘The formation of this panel is an important step in delivering consistency to the oversight of the private parking sector Single Code of Practice.
‘We want to demonstrate that not only are we serious about raising standards but also making decisive changes to the code when issues arise.’
Will Hurley, CEO of the International Parking Community (IPC), also emphasized the significance of the PPSAP, saying: ‘The creation of the Panel shows the commitment the industry has to improving the reputation of our sector.
‘We must not forget the valuable service we provide to ensure the vast majority of people can park when and where they need to.’
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