New parking law changes will ‘protect car park users’ with reduced fines and grace periods

National Trust member criticises new parking charges

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After a Government decision, private car parks will have to display prices more clearly, introduce a fairer system of appeals and give drivers a grace period for lateness. The crackdown comes after thousands of drivers criticised private car parking operators for making it difficult to appeal fines and tickets regardless of the circumstances.

Operators will be required to fully adhere to the new Code by the end of 2023, by which time the new single appeals service is expected to be operational.

Steve Double, MP for St Austell and Newquay, said that complaints about private parking companies are frequently seen in his Parliamentary email inbox.

He said the actions of these companies “can blight the lives of local residents while also running the experience of visitors to Cornwall”.

Mr Double added: “There are many excellent locally run private car parks, but these bad apples can damage the industry’s reputation.

“I have long campaigned for a fairer and better regulated set of rules for users of private car parks, having sat on the Bill Committee for this legislation as it came through Parliament and spoken up on behalf of the people who have contacted me in the past.”

“The Private Parking Code of Conduct realises these ambitions, creates a fair and level playing field for the industry, and will protect private car park users from the poor behaviour we have seen in the past,” he told Cornwall Live.

Between April and June 2021, almost two million parking tickets were issued to drivers by private parking firms.

Those businesses have increased by almost two-thirds in the last five years.

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As part of the new Private Parking Code of Practice, most fines for users of private car parks will be capped at £50 – down from £100 currently.

Higher financial consequences will remain for more serious breaches, such as parking in Blue Badge spaces.

As with most penalty charge notices (PCNs), motorists will get a 50 percent discount if they pay the fine within 14 days.

Operators which do not follow the rules could be barred from collecting fines from motorists.

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