CITY HALL BOSS 'TO SUE' BIKERS PROTESTER

Published: 01 April 2011
by JOSH LOEB

A TOP boss at City Hall has threatened to sue the leader of a group of activists campaigning against motorcycle parking fees.

Peter Large, director of legal services at Westminster Council, wrote to Warren Djanogly, chairman of No To The Bike Parking Tax (NTBPT), in January accusing him of a ­serious libel.

A council spokesman last night (Thursday) confirmed that Mr Large will be going ahead with his private legal action. But Mr Large declined to comment.

In response, Mr Djanogly said he would welcome a court hearing, adding: “I want him to sue me as I would like this to be examined in court.”

The row follows a long-running and heated dispute about charges for motorcycle parking introduced by the council in 2008. City Hall charges £1 a day, or £3.50 a week, £13.50 a month, £33.50 for three months or £100 a year to park a motorbike in Westminster.

The fees sparked noisy street protests and a series of weekly rallies including “go-slow” rides around Trafalgar Square and Victoria Street during rush-hour.

The council condemned the protests as a cynical ploy to “paralyse” central London’s transport system.

The activists have criticised councillors and City Hall officers in online forums.

In 2009, the council’s then parking chief, Councillor Danny Chalkley, said he had become the victim of a “hate campaign of harassment, intimidation and bullying” following the imposition of the parking fees. 

Last month, motorcycle protesters gathered outside the Royal Courts of Justice where Mr Djanogly had appealed against an earlier decision by Lord Justice Pitchford to declare Westminster City Council’s policy of charging for motorcycle parking legal.

Philip Coppel QC, for Mr Djanogly, suggested the charges were intended to raise revenue rather than bring improvements for motorcycle users. 

Outside court, Councillor Lee Rowley, who is the council’s current parking chief, said: “We have always maintained that, with huge demand for on-street space in Westminster, charging motorcyclists a small sum to park was reasonable and fair and the decision has been rigorously scrutinised, open to widespread public debate and tested in the High Court.” 

Members of the NTBPT group, wearing high-visibility jacket, packed the stalls in the courtroom while outside bikers booed and hissed as the council’s legal team arrived. 

A decision in the case is expected within the next month.