We have an agreement on market day parking

Published: July 28, 2011

ON Friday July 22, to my horror, Camden Council parking control towed away all the cars parked with residents’ permits displayed clearly and parked on market traders’ parking bays allocated for market days only.

Advised by a distressed resident, I immediately took this up with parking control and pointed out to them that an agreement with contractors NSL and Camden Council was reached by me as a ward councillor years ago with NSL’s then manager that on market days residents could continue to park on traders’ parking bays showing their residents’ parking permits and that no action like clamping or towing away would ever take place.

NSL have accepted this and agree that the cars should not have been towed away.

Residents should know they can continue to park there as the council would be unable to send letters to all local residents accordingly. This does not apply to cars showing visitors’ parking permits and parking is only on market traders’ bays and residents’ bays.

I believe that no fines will be enforced and no payment for release of the towed away cars.
Cllr Roger Robinson
Labour, St Pancras and Somers Town ward

Tow-away terrors…

WHEN I went on holiday I left a spare key to my flat with my neighbour who had agreed to water plants, feed the cat and keep an eye on my car which was parked legally outside the house in a residents’ bay.

My daughter then borrowed the key from him for a few days, during which Camden suspended the entire bay outside my house with the excuse somebody needed to dig a small hole far away from where I had parked.

Camden’s massive tow-away operation began very early despite a torrential downpour. My neighbour successfully defended my car against aggressive and persistent tow-away crews for half an hour until another friend arrived, who also had a key to my flat where I had left the car keys.

They then drove my car to the bay opposite. Many other residents cars were towed away that morning despite the fact that the workmen far down the road had nearly finished their tiny job and it was obvious they had never needed anything like the entire road cleared. On my return from holiday I found crumpled and destroyed remains of a parking ticket issued at 08:11. The CPZ sign clearly states parking controls start at 08:30.

I appealed to parking services against the penalty charge and also via Camden’s chief executive about the unreasonable behaviour of the tow-away crews and terrorising my neighbour.

I had been on the phone to him during the ordeal and I felt sick hearing how his pleas for these mercenaries to wait for the keys to arrive and speak to me, the car’s owner, on the phone were ignored.

I have now received a reply from a “senior customer services adviser” stating that the council expects any car owner who goes on holiday to appoint a specific person or service, insured to drive their car, because Camden may “lawfully” suspend any bay in which any resident legally parked his/her car.

I believe many of Camden’s temporary warning signs are illegal to start with as they do not comply with Department of Transport regulations for traffic signs. Camden plant their dodgy suspension notices in the middle of night. When people who accept to look after a neighbour’s car try to reason with tow-away crews first thing in the morning these volunteers have to go through hell to get them to back off while they contact the owner or try to get hold of the car keys.

I have now been advised by someone at Camden to involve the Local Government Ombudsman.
Name and address supplied,
NW6