The law and civil parking offences NEW!

13 April 2008 2 min read

The regulations that govern civil parking enforcement changed on 1 April 2008.

The changes were brought in under the Traffic Management Act 2004.

The new parking regulations relate to parking enforcement carried out by local authorities, not the police. Fines can be as high as £120 in London; £70 outside the capital. The main changes are:

Two levels of parking penalty – a ‘lesser offence’, such as overstaying briefly at a parking meter, and a ’serious offence’, such as parking on double yellow lines.
In London, a ‘serious offence’ carries a maximum penalty of £120 and a ‘lesser offence’ of up to £80.
Outside of London, the maximum penalties are £70 for a serious offence and £50 for a lesser offence.
There is a 50% discount for prompt payment and the 50% discount period is extended to 28 days should an informal representation be unsuccessful.
Penalties can be issued for double parking – defined as half a metre or more from the kerb – and parking alongside a ‘dropped kerb’.
A penalty notice may be served by post if the enforcement officer has started to issue the ticket but was unable to finish doing so because, for instance, the offending car was driven away.
A penalty notice may be served by post for contraventions caught on CCTV.
Wheel clamping is to be used mostly for persistent offenders. In other instances, clamping cannot take place until at least 30 minutes after the penalty.
Parking adjudicators have the power to send cases back to local authorities.
Local authorities can keep parking-related revenue to invest in parking or transport.

Further information