Southend councillors exempt from parking fines (From Echo)
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System of trust means wardens can’t give parking tickets to Southend councillors
9:00am Monday 16th January 2012 in Southend By Stephen Hackwell
Councillor Martin Terry
COUNCILLORS will be trusted not to abuse a new parking system which will see Southend’s traffic wardens blocked from ticketing their cars.
A new computer system, authorised by Southend Council, will prevent wardens from issuing penalty notices to councillors if they are parked in public bays from April.
Chiefs say councillors should be entitled to free parking if they are on council business and will trust them not to abuse the system.
But the move has outraged members of the public and some councillors, who claim elected politicians should not receive “perks” as part of the job.
Martin Terry, spokesman for the council’s Independent group, said: “I don’t see why councillors should be given an advantage.
“We are already paid allowances, which are supposed to be used to cover the costs we incur while doing our work as councillors.
“There is no need for extra perks. It is completely unnecessary.”
Councillors currently get permits allowing them to park in all council car parks or pay-and-display bays, but are told to leave the permits at home if they are not performing civic duties and pay as members of the public.
All councillors have the permits except the nine-strong Independent group, whose members argued they only needed free parking at the Civic Centre and the Essex Street town centre car park to carry out their work.
Under the new system, permits will be shredded and instead the number plates of councillors’ cars will be entered into the electronic devices used by the traffic wardens to issue tickets.
It means wardens will be automatically blocked if they try issuing penalty notices on councillors’ cars regardless of how long they have been parked in a bay.
Traffic wardens will issue penalties if councillors park in banned areas, such as roads with double yellow lines, or take up two or more spaces in a car park because wardens enter separate codes for different offences before issuing tickets.
Council chiefs said the move would save money by cutting the costs of the paperwork and printing associated with the permits, but have not said how much.
A spokesman said: “The new system will not differ from the permits in the sense that councillors will be trusted to use it appropriately.
“If they are not on council business, they will be expected to pay to park as a member of the public.”
Comments(57)
notalocalman
says...
10:24am Mon 16 Jan 12
Martin Terry and his little mob of "independents" are making a mountain out of yet another molehill
Julian Ware-Lane
says...
10:42am Mon 16 Jan 12
press.com/2012/01/13
/what-is-wrong-with-
free-parking-for-cou
ncillors-on-council-
business/#comment-33
90
mr_happy
says...
11:13am Mon 16 Jan 12
Kentish Alex
says...
11:49am Mon 16 Jan 12
Abuse of this system will be almost guaranteed. Why should certain people not have to worry about the clock when parked in the same way as the rest of us?
Bester
says...
12:09pm Mon 16 Jan 12
Ok. I'm all for fairness. So how about free parking at Southend hospital for all visitors?
j-w
says...
12:28pm Mon 16 Jan 12
Mr. Pedantic
says...
12:54pm Mon 16 Jan 12
whataday
says...
12:56pm Mon 16 Jan 12
Cockle
says...
1:08pm Mon 16 Jan 12
It will now be the case that a councillor's car can NEVER be issued with a ticket, regardless.
Now I might trust a councillor to be honest enough to pay for his parking when on private business just as I have to. However, should I overstay my time by a few minutes I run the risk of being issued with a FPN, a councillor will not as the warden will be unable to issue him with a ticket as his machine will not let him.
If I choose to park on a double yellow while I pop into a newsagent, or suchlike, or on a zig-zag line outside a school to drop a child off then I should, rightly run the risk of getting a FPN, a councillor will not as the warden will, again, be unable to issue the ticket.
Councillors are, supposedly, citizens just like you and me who choose to serve their community, other than receiving concessions necessary to enable them to carry out those duties why should they be treated any different? Why should the same parking facility not be offered to District Nurses, health visitors, etc, who I'm sure would not be any less honest in using the facility.
Sorry, it has long been a major part of British justice that all are treated, and seen to be treated, as equal under the law. When we start treating people differently because of who they are then we are going down the slope to being as corrupt as other society's that are derided on here.
The very fact that this is being countenanced shows that arrogance is alive and well at the Civic Centre.
Never fear, ladies and gentlemen of the Council, May is coming; you know May, that time each year when we electorate get to decide whether or not you are fit to continue to represent us. On this showing don't too many of you be getting too comfy in those council chamber seats, now will you????
Cockle
says...
1:19pm Mon 16 Jan 12
Cockle wrote:In the interest of being fair. I must ask, please ignore my point about a ticket not being issued for a double yellow or zig-zags; on that point I am in error and would withdraw the comment.
I think many are missing the point here.
It will now be the case that a councillor's car can NEVER be issued with a ticket, regardless.
Now I might trust a councillor to be honest enough to pay for his parking when on private business just as I have to. However, should I overstay my time by a few minutes I run the risk of being issued with a FPN, a councillor will not as the warden will be unable to issue him with a ticket as his machine will not let him.
If I choose to park on a double yellow while I pop into a newsagent, or suchlike, or on a zig-zag line outside a school to drop a child off then I should, rightly run the risk of getting a FPN, a councillor will not as the warden will, again, be unable to issue the ticket.
Councillors are, supposedly, citizens just like you and me who choose to serve their community, other than receiving concessions necessary to enable them to carry out those duties why should they be treated any different? Why should the same parking facility not be offered to District Nurses, health visitors, etc, who I'm sure would not be any less honest in using the facility.
Sorry, it has long been a major part of British justice that all are treated, and seen to be treated, as equal under the law. When we start treating people differently because of who they are then we are going down the slope to being as corrupt as other society's that are derided on here.
The very fact that this is being countenanced shows that arrogance is alive and well at the Civic Centre.
Never fear, ladies and gentlemen of the Council, May is coming; you know May, that time each year when we electorate get to decide whether or not you are fit to continue to represent us. On this showing don't too many of you be getting too comfy in those council chamber seats, now will you????
The rest of my argument still stands.
r6keith
says...
1:42pm Mon 16 Jan 12
jayman
says...
2:07pm Mon 16 Jan 12
SuperFly Ty
says...
2:25pm Mon 16 Jan 12
Sir Peter Pantsless the 3rd
says...
3:04pm Mon 16 Jan 12
.
Just who keeps on voting these shameless tories in????
(In fact i can probably answer that...Election turnout is soo low that the only people voting are probably the councillors themselves, which is enough!!!!)
.
Whats next....free road tax, insurance, mot, etc for their family vehicles??? (it wouldnt surprise anyone would it!)
Sid Rotton
says...
3:34pm Mon 16 Jan 12
Cockle
says...
3:57pm Mon 16 Jan 12
r6keith wrote:Perhaps you could make that point to ex-councillors Waite, Roast and Clinkscales who all failed to convince their ward electorate that they were the right ones to continue to represent their wards.
Cockle Tha last bit about May is coming this argument was put about by a certain action groups SAEN and SKIPP before the last local elections did it make any difference NO .
I have no brief for SAEN or SKIPP, very far from it, in fact.
The case remains that the electorate demonstrated it is no longer simply content to vote for the same faces time after time, as the three above found out. One of the reasons, I'm sure, that we have suddenly, in the last year, had mooted that we should go to a single whole Council election every four years rather than the councillors having the tiresome duty of convincing us on a regular basis that they are still fit to represent us. I think they would find it very convenient to have four years between elections for us to forget what they have, or haven't done.
When May comes round they will have the chance to put their case; and we will have the chance to give our verdict.
leigh-my-town
says...
4:46pm Mon 16 Jan 12
Keptquiettillnow
says...
4:57pm Mon 16 Jan 12
Roy_Baty
says...
5:03pm Mon 16 Jan 12
Simple answer: Don't vote tory.
John the resonator
says...
5:09pm Mon 16 Jan 12
stropmag
says...
5:17pm Mon 16 Jan 12
If you park in a car park where the council levy a charge pay that charge. If you are entitled to reclaim the cost, reclaim it. That's Back to Basics.
Last Poster
says...
5:17pm Mon 16 Jan 12
John the resonator
says...
5:44pm Mon 16 Jan 12
Last Poster wrote:Quite agree.
No sector of British people should be able to put themselves above the law. Once you start down this road, you surely should consider all shop asssitants who work in an area that does not allow parking, people who work in the City and have no choice but to travel on a train, everybody has the need to park on business sometimes, so why should these undemocratic overpaid and certainly under worked "Cabinet" idiots get anything free. I wonder if they are into using the council's direct labour force do their house and garden maintenence yet? If not, it will surely come. The same old same old Tories!
A Dad
says...
5:45pm Mon 16 Jan 12
Why should these people be given such a perk?
They should have to pay the same as the rest of us!
Roy_Baty
says...
5:47pm Mon 16 Jan 12
Last Poster wrote:One of them, Anna Waite - a tory, used the council graffiti removers to clean her wall last year… even though she lives outside the Southend Borough. Thankfully she is no longer a councillor.
No sector of British people should be able to put themselves above the law. Once you start down this road, you surely should consider all shop asssitants who work in an area that does not allow parking, people who work in the City and have no choice but to travel on a train, everybody has the need to park on business sometimes, so why should these undemocratic overpaid and certainly under worked "Cabinet" idiots get anything free. I wonder if they are into using the council's direct labour force do their house and garden maintenence yet? If not, it will surely come. The same old same old Tories!
joeski97
says...
5:57pm Mon 16 Jan 12
Southendian
says...
6:04pm Mon 16 Jan 12
Democrat
says...
6:51pm Mon 16 Jan 12
jolllyboy
says...
7:25pm Mon 16 Jan 12
save southend
says...
8:04pm Mon 16 Jan 12
Skymaster
says...
8:08pm Mon 16 Jan 12
Pay the parking fee and claim it back. As one who used to deal with such expenses, there is little tangible saving in office administrative time to be gained by endowing Councillors with this God like status. Either, only vote for someone who will fight against this plan, or let us all refuse to vote.
jayman
says...
8:21pm Mon 16 Jan 12
local level... real democracy!
Nebs
says...
8:52pm Mon 16 Jan 12
jayman wrote:How much do you think we should pay them?
how about we start paying our councillors a wage with no perks. it would open the flood gates to real people who really care about there community and who can spare all there time dealing with the concerns of locals. not shady deals by unknown sponsors and ulterior motives. I.E an end to party politics at a
local level... real democracy!
siddymint
says...
8:58pm Mon 16 Jan 12
EssexBoy1968
says...
9:24pm Mon 16 Jan 12
Oh, & my understanding is that the fees charged at hospitals are done by the NHS Trust involved, not the local council - if you want to someone to blame for that - it was the Scottish & Welsh Labour MPs at Westminster who voted for this to be allowed, knowing full well it would have no effect on their own constituents.
jayman
says...
10:33pm Mon 16 Jan 12
Nebs wrote:17k pa should just about ensure people do it for the local community and civic responsibility and not for personal gain. and before you say that that wouldn't be enough, trust me there are plenty of people who would happily sip tea/coffee in the civic centre while making decisions and sitting in committees. the best part of the job should be speaking to locals and listening to there views and responding to correspondents from local residents who have issues. not like the current local Tory administration who think its all about big business and themselves..
jayman wrote:How much do you think we should pay them?
how about we start paying our councillors a wage with no perks. it would open the flood gates to real people who really care about there community and who can spare all there time dealing with the concerns of locals. not shady deals by unknown sponsors and ulterior motives. I.E an end to party politics at a
local level... real democracy!
Thames Gateway
says...
10:50pm Mon 16 Jan 12
This must be a record - nearly every poster here sort of in agreement! To me that shows that this is a wrong call by the Council, and one they must overturn rapidly in order to retain some semblance of connection with the people of Southend.
zipster31
says...
11:13pm Mon 16 Jan 12
SARFENDMAN
says...
6:46am Tue 17 Jan 12
BIRLIS
says...
8:24am Tue 17 Jan 12
joeski97
says...
8:25am Tue 17 Jan 12
zaedlo
says...
9:05am Tue 17 Jan 12
joeski97
says...
9:35am Tue 17 Jan 12
Joe Hune
says...
12:12pm Tue 17 Jan 12
Roy_Baty wrote:Who said it was only Tory??
What more do people expect from a tory council? It's the usual one rule for them another rule for us proles. Snouts-in-trough pigs, the lot of them. Simple answer: Don't vote tory.
The article says Independent party members where the only people to say 'NO' so I assume by your comments there are not any Labour or Liberal members on Southend Council??
Typical Tory basher!!
Roy_Baty
says...
12:58pm Tue 17 Jan 12
Joe Hune wrote:Southend Borough Council runs on a cabinet system. A cabinet consisting of no-one but Tories. Nothing in Southend gets passed without that cabinet's say so.
Roy_Baty wrote:Who said it was only Tory??
What more do people expect from a tory council? It's the usual one rule for them another rule for us proles. Snouts-in-trough pigs, the lot of them. Simple answer: Don't vote tory.
The article says Independent party members where the only people to say 'NO' so I assume by your comments there are not any Labour or Liberal members on Southend Council??
Typical Tory basher!!
As I said: Typical snouts-in-the-trough
-tories.
Bester
says...
2:37pm Tue 17 Jan 12
Julian Ware-Lane wrote:JW-L
My take on this can be read here http://warelane.word press.com/2012/01/13 /what-is-wrong-with- free-parking-for-cou ncillors-on-council- business/#comment-33 90
"Those that enforce the law must also obey it"
http://warelane.word
press.com/page/4/
You see fit to bring to our attention a Police car parked on the pavement during a possible emergency in a cul-de-sac.
But you are happy with a system that gives immunity for councillors from being issued parking tickets???
The__Truth
says...
1:31am Wed 18 Jan 12
Julian Ware-Lane
says...
10:02am Wed 18 Jan 12
Bester wrote:Police cars use their lights in an emergency. I am afraid there are numerous examples of the police parking in places where anyone else would be ticketed.
Julian Ware-Lane wrote: My take on this can be read here http://warelane.word press.com/2012/01/13 /what-is-wrong-with- free-parking-for-cou ncillors-on-council- business/#comment-33 90JW-L "Those that enforce the law must also obey it" http://warelane.word press.com/page/4/ You see fit to bring to our attention a Police car parked on the pavement during a possible emergency in a cul-de-sac. But you are happy with a system that gives immunity for councillors from being issued parking tickets???
I am not sure what your point is: the police car in my post was breaking the law, the councillors are following the rules.
Bester
says...
10:51am Wed 18 Jan 12
As a taxpayer (and a voter), I am happier seeing a Police car parked on an pavement in order to tend to a possible emergency, rather than a councillor parking his/her car in a ticket area without paying due to some blanket exemption.
Surely you can see that exemption based on registration number is open to all kinds of abuse. Why should the public be happy with this? Blind faith?
Last time I checked, councillors do not provide an emergency service and shouldn't get special treatment.
_champagne2
says...
11:28am Wed 18 Jan 12
Broadwaywatch
says...
12:13pm Wed 18 Jan 12
The only time the majority of them make themselves known is when it comes to election time. Then we are subject to big newspaper articles from them running down the opposition. My advice would be if you wish to represent the people of this town then act like the people of this town. Pay your way: it was you who volunteered for the job. Get out and about. Be just that one minute late back to where you have parked and find a ticket with he or she who has issued it standing there grinning.
Get on a bus and be subject to the rudeness of the driver because you haven’t got the right change. Cycle down the London Road avoiding the ruts on the camber. Walk the Southend High street and adjoining streets late at night early morning without a police escort.
I think you get the gist of what I’m saying.
Bester
says...
12:16pm Wed 18 Jan 12
Broadwaywatch wrote:Very well said.
Why is it some Southend Councillors believe that going about their ‘business’ is more important than other citizens of this town going about their ‘business’. The only time the majority of them make themselves known is when it comes to election time. Then we are subject to big newspaper articles from them running down the opposition. My advice would be if you wish to represent the people of this town then act like the people of this town. Pay your way: it was you who volunteered for the job. Get out and about. Be just that one minute late back to where you have parked and find a ticket with he or she who has issued it standing there grinning. Get on a bus and be subject to the rudeness of the driver because you haven’t got the right change. Cycle down the London Road avoiding the ruts on the camber. Walk the Southend High street and adjoining streets late at night early morning without a police escort. I think you get the gist of what I’m saying.
Andycal 172D
says...
4:39pm Wed 18 Jan 12
CORRUPT!!!!!!
mindgraft
says...
5:47pm Wed 18 Jan 12
joeski97
says...
7:01pm Wed 18 Jan 12
Altravista
says...
9:08pm Wed 18 Jan 12
SuperFly Ty wrote:Err...councillors ARE politicians, SuperFly Ty. I trust you are not getting mixed up with council officers i.e. people who work for the council. Councillors are elected by us, the voters, members of the public,and they are meant to represent our views. They are mean to show honesty, probity and integrity at all times and uphold the law! So really they should be paying for parking, not looking for ways of evading charges. But totally agree with you re hospital parking.
Make them pay and give people who visit southend hospital free parking.And the majority of the councillors are as honest as Politicians
Nebs says...
9:59am Mon 16 Jan 12