Time to pay back motorists

Published: 25 February, 2011

• AS a member of the No To Mob who helped highlight the illegal mobile CCTV enforcement at the Brewer Street junction, I can say that we have not had one sighting of any of the council’s nine mobile CCTV spy cars enforcing moving traffic violations. 

In fact, a number of the council’s CCTV cars have remained parked with rusting disc brakes outside the council’s Lisson Grove depot until the first sighting only on Tuesday at a favourite council revenue earner, Savile Row. 

The only time a few of the council’s CCTV fleet have been seen on the move has been for providing a very expensive taxi service for a couple of the council’s civil enforcement officers to issue parking tickets. 

Cabinet member for parking Lee Rowley (Story wrong, Letters, February 18) claims your February 11 front page story was wrong to suggest all traffic enforcement had been  halted.

If Cllr Rowley wishes to dispute that there was a suspension of mobile CCTV moving traffic enforcement he only has to reply to the emails we have sent to him.

But it is very unfortunate that he finds it morally acceptable to withhold the dirty money that the council has taken from hundreds of unsuspecting motorists on the strength of misleading signs. 

He expects those victims to be aware they have been robbed by the council and to appeal individually for the return of money which the council should never have demanded from the public in the first place.

Conversely when the No To Mob drew Southwark council’s attention to a similar case of illegal mobile CCTV enforcement, they not only corrected their mistake but automatically contacted and refunded all the motorists who had been sent penalty charge notices in error.

Westminster Council’s refusal to do the right thing will be seen by many as tantamount to theft.

BLUE
Great Titchfield Street, W1