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Neil Herron CPZ Judicial Review
Posted on Monday, May 17 @ 09:41:34 BST by pulpsimon |
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The Motorists Legal Challenge Fund is fundraising to support Neil & it is not too late to show your support.
Tuesday and Wednesday of this week (18th & 19th May) sees Neil Herron's case in the High Court. It has taken almost 3 years to get this case before a Judge, but we are finally there. What is at stake is the correct and legal definition of a Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ).
CPZs were originally designed for small areas of 12 streets or less, but local councils have abused them so much that they can now cover areas of 12 square miles or more encompassing hundreds of streets.
The entry signs in some places have become so large and complicated that they are impossible to read - let alone retain - when travelling past at 30 mph (or even 20 mph). As a result, motorists are often not sure about when and where they can park, which increases the risk of their receiving a parking ticket.
The Department for Transport has been concerned for some time now about the misapplication of CPZs and the difficulties it causes for drivers. Indeed, they even researched the issues way back in 2005 . More recently, the DfT along with the Institute of Highways Engineers have effectively declared CPZs as "not fit for purpose".
However, nothing has been done to clarify the situation.
Neil's case could do just that.
There is nothing private or secret about the courts, they are open to the public. If you want to witness the law in action and see how your donation money is being spent, then turn up at the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand on Tuesday or Wednesday.
ARE WE DOING THE RIGHT THING?
Why is it that one individual should have to bring a case against a local authority? After all, we have just been through and election to choose national and local representatives who are supposed to hold civil servants and council officers to account.
This system is not perfect, and should we have reason to believe that local authorities are breaking the law, as a last resort they can be held to account through the process of judicial review.
Support for this process comes from a group of academics at the University of Essex who recently wrote a report entitled "Judicial Review Litigation as an Incentive to Change in Local Authority Public Services in England & Wales ". Don't be put off by the long title.
It confirms that we are doing the right thing, and that their "research indicated that judicial review may actually help authorities to improve." They also make the point that "There are strong associations between the values of public service and fidelity to law and both are intimately connected with the responsibility of local authorities to serve the public interest."
Put into our context, if local authorities do not themselves comply with the law, then what right do they have to punish motorists who do not comply with the law?
Philip Johnston of the Daily Telegraph wrote:
“Neil Herron is a sort of latter-day Wat Tyler leading a Peasant’s Revolt against the parking tyranny that has gripped the land. A former fishmonger from Sunderland, he was a key figure in the celebrated Metric Martyr campaign a few years ago, when his late friend Steve Thoburn, a fellow stallholder, was fined for selling bananas by the pound. He has a sharp sense of injustice and now runs Parking Appeals.co.uk which specialises in fighting such cases – and winning them too. In fact he is causing consternation in town halls across the land.”
Whilst we may not be the Peasant’s Revolt we most certainly demand fairness and accountability
from those tasked with looking after the public purse and expect them to act within the law and not
to treat the motorist as an easy stealth tax target.
Such is the gravity of the case and the potential implications that the Secretary of State has even
asked to give evidence to the High Court, which is unprecedented.
Lord Lucas and actor Tom Conti have thrown their weight (and their personal money to the tune of
£5,000 each) behind as Trustees of the Motorists Legal Challenge Fund set up to assist cases such
as this and to ensure that the ‘Goliath establishment’ cannot simply use the threat of costs as a
weapon to crush the little ‘Davids’.
If ever there was a time that the public needed to rally behind a campaign to ensure that unfairness
and injustice are exposed, then this is it.
TO DONATE: Cheques made payable to:
MOTORISTS LEGAL CHALLENGE FUND, PO BOX 6228, LONDON, N8 1AG
Or by visiting the Motorists Legal Challenge website
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