September 30, 2015 5.13 pm
This story is over 81 months old
Parking operator sanctioned after fraudulent tickets issued at Lincoln car park
“Wholly unacceptable” The parking operator at the centre of a scandal into evidence tampering at a Lincoln car park has been disciplined by the British Parking Association (BPA).
The car park operated by UKPC in the Tritton Retail Park. Photo: The Lincolnite
The parking operator at the centre of a scandal into photo evidence tampering at a Lincoln car park has been disciplined by the British Parking Association (BPA).
As revealed first in The Lincolnite, UK Parking Control (UKPC) admitted that several of its employees had doctored photos and fined motorists illegitimately in Lincoln and across the country.
Local residents had spoken of their anger at fines they had received from the Tritton Retail Park, which they said were completely unjustified.
Simone Riley-Young received a fine of £100 after she parked in the Tritton Retail Park
A former warden working for the company also spoke out about the practice of altering timestamps in order to make it look like motorists overstayed in the car park and fine them.
UKPC belatedly issued an apology, confirming that “a limited number of pictures of vehicles, at a small number of car parks, have had their timestamp altered by a few of our employees,” and that anyone incorrectly fined would receive a refund.
The operator added that disciplinary action was in progress in relation to the employees found to have been evidence tampering.
Matt Treacy was issued with a parking ticket on August 22 at the Tritton Retail Park
New parking operators code of practice
Since then, the BPA has concluded an investigation into the allegations made against UKPC, and has disciplined the company in accordance with its Scheme of Sanctions.
The BPA did not disclose the exact sanctions applied but said that its investigations “highlighted the need to update our Code of Practice, to make it absolutely clear that the practice of offering financial incentives to parking attendants/wardens which relate to the quantity of penalty charge notices issued by them is wholly unacceptable.”
The updated Code of Practice comes into effect from October 1 and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has been kept informed throughout the process.
The DVLA itself is carrying out its own audit following concerns raised about offering financial incentives to parking wardens.
An extension to the grace period at the end of the paid for parking time or after the expiry of a free parking period, to a minimum of 10 minutes, will also come into force from October 1.
This brings private car parks into line with car parks run by local authorities who are required by law to observe a 10 minute grace period in the same circumstances.
The Tritton Retail Park. Photo: The Lincolnite
Patrick Troy, CEO of the BPA, said: “We want to make it easier for motorists to park in whichever car park they use when they go about their daily business. By making private car parks as similar to local authority ones as possible life becomes much simpler for the motorist.
“The BPA is committed to encouraging and developing the highest standards of professional conduct and ethics within its membership. The BPA Code of Professional Conduct sets out the standards expected of those working in the profession and all BPA members commit to the code when they join the association.”
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
The Lincolnshire Music Service is offering exciting summer music workshops completely FREE of charge to eight to 14 year olds thanks to short-term COVID recovery funding. This is a saving of around £30 per full-day workshop!
The full-day music workshops will give young people the chance to try out being in a rock band, or learn more about DJ skills, beatboxing and music production. If you have young members of your family, looking for some fun activities this summer, apply soon!
The Junior Rocks workshops are seeking drummers, guitarists, bass guitarists, vocals and keyboard players aged 8–13 years old. Grade 1 plus.
No experience is needed for the DJ skills, Beatboxing and Music Production workshops – just an enthusiasm for music, and a willingness to give it a try!
It’s advisable to book early to avoid disappointment as it’s expected that these workshops will soon be fully booked
All workshops are delivered by experienced DBS cleared industry experts and supported by Lincolnshire Music Service.
A major housing extension in Sleaford will no longer get a pub or nursery after developers struggled to find people to run them.
The 1450-home Handley Chase development was supposed to deliver facilities for its future residents.
However, plans for the pub and nursery have been abandoned for the time being after four years on the market without any interest.
18 additional houses will be built on the site off London Road instead.
Future applications could relocate the pub and nursery closer to the main road to make them more attractive to operators.
Councillors said that reallocating the land was better than ending up with an unused “barren wilderness” in the middle of the development.
However, they warned that they didn’t want the promised facilities to disappear.
Councillor Richard Wright told North Kesteven District Council’s planning committee: “We don’t just want an urban sprawl – we need infrastructure which makes the development a nice place to live.
“We can’t just leave the site on the open market forever, creating a desert in the middle of the homes. It will become a barren wilderness with anti-social behaviour.
“It would look a mess simply because we want to see the building according to our designs.”
Designs for some of the 18 new houses near London Road, Sleaford | Photo: T. Balfe Construction
However, other councillors were reluctant to amend the previous plans.
Councillor David Suiter said: “I am concerned that the local centre will start disappearing and we will end up with more houses.
“A lot of the four years in which it was marketed was during Covid, and many firms are looking at changing their business models. It’s too soon to say that developments which haven’t had interest yet are unviable. We should expect them to continue marketing it.”
The Handley Chase plans were originally passed in 2017.
It is a joint development between four firms, with T. Balfe Construction to deliver the new 18 homes.
Council officer Nick Feltham told the meeting that another location in the site could potentially be used for the pub and nursery at a later date.
“The public house offer has been marketed for four years, and no operator has come forward. We can grant permission and require it to be marketed, but we can’t require there to be an operator given the economic circumstances,” he said.
“Tentative queries have suggested that a frontage onto London Road would be preferable. The undeveloped opportunity could be retained in case the economic climate changes or the demand emerges.”
The planning committee approved it by eight votes to three.
The local centre has also promised a health centre, a community centre and four shops with offices above.
The Co-op shop is already open, and the shops are on the market.
Whatsapp
