Councillors continue call for Telford council to take on parking powers

Civil Parking Enforcement will again be discussed by councillors at the finance and enterprise scrutiny committee meeting on Thursday.

At the moment, Telford is one of only a handful of councils across the country that does not have CPE powers, the only unitary authority not to do so and the only council in the West Midlands no to.

Only 21 councils nationwide do not have CPE.

The job of issuing tickets to motorists in Telford is currently in the hands of police or community officers.

But the council could apply for a CPE order, which would enable it to target problem areas, potentially increasing the number of tickets issued to motorists each year – and allowing the council to keep any fines that are

The issue was last discussed at a meeting of Telford & Wrekin Council’s finance and enterprise scrutiny committee in July, where the plans were parked by members who said said the powers are “much needed” but said they need more information about funding to cover the set-up costs.

But now it is back on the agenda, and it has been announced that Shropshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner has offered to give the council up to £150,000 if it takes on new parking powers.

John Campion wrote to the council in the Summer offering to provide £50,000 for the first year of a CPE scheme, and up to a further £50,000 again in years two and three.

Mr Campion, Police and Crime Commissioner for West Mercia, has said he is keen to see the de-criminalisation of parking enforcement, which is not always a priority for officers investigating more serious crimes.

Telford is the only place in the force area that doesn’t have CPE.

The plans were first proposed by Conservative Councillor Eric Carter and seconded by Councillor Nicola Lowery. They have put forward a further report pushing for the scheme which has been submitted among the meeting papers.

They said they are keen to see the council move forward with the scheme.

Councillor Carter, ward member for Newport South and East, said: “Telford & Wrekin Council will shortly be the only unitary authority whereby civil parking enforcement powers have not been adopted, as North Somerset have submitted an application and Wokingham Borough Council are preparing their submission.

"I and my colleague Councillor Lowery brought this motion forward to full council in July 2016 as we feel local authorities are best placed to carry out the traffic management duties within their local communities.

"I look forward to seeing the further modelling work the council has undertaken over the last few months to evidence the justified need and to ensure a feasible scheme that will ensure responsible and safe parking in Telford & Wrekin”.

Councillor Lowery, ward member for the Ironbridge Gorge, said: “The government recognised that local authorities were better placed to deal with this problem and by empowering councils to be able to deal with this with the overwhelming majority of councils assuming CPE powers for the benefit of their residents, given its status as a lower policing priority.

"As our borough continues to expand, it is essential we develop a credible strategy to improve road safety and CPE has received support from both of our MPs in Telford & Wrekin, local parish and town councils and the West Mercia Police Crime Commissioner, who has also committed up to £150K towards the Council’s civil parking enforcement scheme.

"While this contribution is welcomed, I look forward to the meeting on Thursday to see the further work the Council have completed to ensure a viable and sustainable scheme that will benefit our borough”.

Concerns have previously been raised by councillors who say they would not want to see officers “incentivised” to give out tickets, and struggle to see whether taking over the powers would be financially viable to the council.

But others have said that parking is not currently policed because of the strain on officers and this would give a better result for people in Telford.