Barnet CPZ refunds update - Barnet Alliance (BAPS) doing the councils job

As many readers of this blog will be aware, residents living in Controlled Parking Zone areas (CPZ's) have been being illegally overcharged since the huge hike brought in by convicted criminal councillor Brian Coleman in 2010 when he was in charge of roads. Every Barnet resident is legally entitled to a refund of this overpayment. You would think that having taken the money under false pretences, the Council would do the decent things and give everyone the money back. After all they have details of every permit and who owns it. A little letter of apology would be quite nice as well.

Sadly the Council doesn't work this way. As a result, the Council has unwittingly outsourced the job to the leading protest action group in Barnet, the Barnet Alliance for Public Services. Realising that the council was trying to hang on to as much cash as they can, the ever savvy Barnet Alliance have printed up tens of thousands of leaflets alerting residents to the refund and are currently delivering them all over the Borough in CPZ's.

This is a spectacular own goal by the Council. It has given BAPS a huge PR opportunity. Every resident in a CPZ who gets a leaflet will think that BAPS are wonderful and the Council are a behaving like a bunch of crooks. In effect BAPS are giving every resident who isn't aware of the refund a big brown envelope full of cash. I urged the Council to simply do the decent thing. They haven't so now the local Tory administration are banging another nail into their electoral chances.

Let me share with you an email that the Barnet Alliance recieved following the leafletting drive in High Barnet

Dear barnet alliance What can i say except for heartfelt thankyou. I didnt think people like you existed anymore. Genuine community based action that achieves results for working people is a rare and beautiful thing. after paying a parking fine of £30 which believe it or not we can hardly afford i returned to my home to find one of your inobtrusive leaflets in my hall. I was just about to throw it away when the parking charge headline caught my eye ( i confess i thought they wanted more money) my wife has followed your instructions and we could be due for a little windfall. This could not come at a better time for us as we are only on one wage and trying to raise our 7 month old baby. Well done guys you are making a difference to people and your quiet heroism which is very much appreciated in this corner of barnet.

David

I am quite sure that many people throughout Barnet will feel exactly the same. According to figures released by the Council, only 15% of people have applied for a a refund. If you live in a CPZ and have not applied yet, see the details in the right hand column. The process could not be more simple. Send an email ASAP to CPZParkingRefunds@barnet.gov.uk providing details of your name, telephone number, address, permit ID if they have it and car registration number.

Lets hope that the Council realise just how badly they are behaving and do the decent thing

Barnet Council drops plans to appeal the CPZ verdict - We all get a refund !

Only in Barnet could they decide to bury a good news story! Hot on the heels of the decision of the appeal court to reject the One Barnet case brought by Maria Nash, the council has bowed to common sense and decided to abide by the ruling that the CPZ increase imposed by convicted criminal and thug, Councillor Brian Coleman, were illegal.

The Barnet Eye has supported the CPZ campaign from its inception. We featured David Attfield talking about the challenge in the film "A Tale of Two Barnets" which you can see here. David speaks very well and very passionately about the challenge. It is well worth watching the film. This was made a year ago, I watched the film again today. It is quite amazing to watch it again on this day when the CPZ campaign won and the One Barnet Campaign had a massive setback.

Congratulations to David Attfield on his victory.  Forward the film to 7:32 for David Attfields contribution. It is well worth reminding ourselves as to why David brought the case.




The Council issued the following statement

http://www.barnet.gov.uk/news/article/345/statement_on_cpz_legal_challenge

Statement on CPZ legal challenge

Published Friday 2 August 2013

From the Leader of Barnet Council, Councillor Richard Cornelius: “After taking legal advice, we have decided not to appeal against the court`s judgement that the charges for CPZ were increased without going through the proper process.

"I am sorry that this was done in the way that it was.  The Court has ruled that the increase was wrongly implemented and so we will go back to the old charges.  Any change to these will have to go through the proper process.”
Residents who made payments at the increased rates for their annual charges and/or for visitor vouchers will be refunded the difference in charge and should fill out an e-form on Barnet Council’s website, providing details of their name, telephone number, address, permit ID if they have it and car registration number. 
Alternatively they can email the council at CPZParkingRefunds@barnet.gov.uk or write to; Parking Team, CPZ Parking Refunds, London Borough of Barnet, Building 4, North London Business Park, Oakleigh Road South, London N11 1NP
Residents are requested to apply for refunds by email or in writing, rather than telephoning the Council, to ensure this can be done quickly. We will aim to get the process completed in eight weeks.
Contact Press Officer: Sue Cocker
Press Contacts

I suppose that today just goes to prove, you win some and you lose some. 

FOI response proves that Brian Coleman's CPZ changes have wrecked Barnet Council finances

Guest Blog from Barnet CPZ Campaign

The information in the email below is simply astonishing. The purchase of visitor vouchers by Barnet's CPZ residents has all but died out since the price was quadrupled.

This is not surprising. CPZ residents can't and won't pay £40 or more to hold a children's party at their home; £20 to invite friends round for coffee; £28 or more to hold a book club meeting, £4 to have the grandchildren drop by for a minutes.

So  these sorts of simple social engagements have been abandoned by Barnet's all day CPZ residents or they are putting themselves and their guests to inconvenience and embarrassment to work around the charges.

Barnet Council in its 2011-2012 anticipated that almost 200,000 visitor vouchers would be purchased this year at £4 each. They'll be luck to sell 10% of this number.

Barnet Council predicted that quadrupling the cost of visitor vouchers would generate £590,000 MORE INCOME. In fact, it looks like it will create at least £100,000 LESS INCOME.     

Barnet Council: Destroying its communities while destroying its finances. 
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 From:  ********************** Redacted Barnet Council Employee
 Date: 31 January 2012 14:11:58 GMT

To: xxxxx 

Subject: Freedom of Information Act 2000

Dear xxxxx

I am writing in respect of your enquiry for information held by the Authority under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to you. 

Please find the information you requested enclosed. If you have any queries concerning the information please contact me at the supplied address. 

18/04/2011 to 07/01/2012
Number of residents permits sold = 8,825
Number of visitor vouchers sold = 16,696

2010/11 -  01/04/2010 to 31/03/2011
Number of residents permits sold  = 13,453
Number of visitor vouchers sold = 331,614 

Unfortunately, we are unable to state how many of the applications received were for a households first car as we do not have the means of reporting on this presently. The figures provided are for the total number of resident permits and visitor vouchers sold for the periods between 18/04/2011 and 07/01/2012 and between 01/04/2010 and 31/03/2011. 

 
If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been handled, you can request a review within the next 20 working days by writing to the FOI Officer at: The London Borough of Barnet, North London Business Park, Oakleigh Road South, London, N11 1NP (email foi@barnet.gov.uk).

If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint, you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at: The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF (telephone: 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 54 57 45; website: www.ico.gov.uk). There is no charge for making an appeal.

Yours sincerely,

******* *********
Administration Assistant
Environment, Planning and Regeneration
London Borough of Barnet, North London Business Park, Oakleigh Road South, London N11 1NP
Barnet Online: www.barnet.gov.uk

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Guest Blogs are always welcome from community based campaigns in the London Borough of Barnet. Submit via the link in the sidebar

Barnet Council Pay and Display - Latest update

The Hendon and District residents forum last night reported  the latest status on Pay and Display parking. The scheme to introduce Scratchcards is to be implemented as follows :-

Target date for implementation is Monday 5 December but we
are in the hands of the printers

Scratch cards will cost £2 each; the minimum amount purchased
in a single transaction is four cards

From early December they will be available online to purchase
from the Parking web page

They will not be available to purchase through libraries

Retailers will be able to sell Scratch Cards if they wish but there
will be no discount.

This was reported at the Hendon & District residents forum yesterday (papers here)
http://committeepapers.barnet.gov.uk/democracy/meetings/meetingdetail.asp?meetingid=7076

It is quite clear that Barnet Council is making it as difficult and expensive as possible for residents to use the scheme. Not selling them via libraries is scandalous. Many people visit libraries such as Mill Hill which are in pay and display areas. It is ridiculous that someone visiting the library and parking near it cannot purchase the scratchcard there. It is also scandalous that cheapest scratchcard is £2, when the cheapest pay by phone charge is £1. For many people on a quick visit to purchase milk or a paper, this becomes an extortionate charge, costing two or three times the cost of the purchase item.

Surely this is discriminatory against those with no phone. As to the proposal that retailers have to pay the full mark up for the cards, this is completely ridiculous. Does no one in Barnet understand the concept of business. I'm most disappointed that a Council run by a small businessman (Richard Cornelius runs a jeweller) has come up with such a scheme.

The former leader of Barnet Council (now MP for Finchley), Mike Freer, used to have regular "Leader Listens Business Breakfasts". I attended a couple of these meetings.They were useful forums for traders to air such issues and to suggest improvements to the implementation of such schemes. Sadly these were quietly dropped under Lynne Hillans leadership and completely abandoned under Cornelius. As the small business community are generally Conservative leaning and the council is lead by a small businessman, it is truly bizarre that the sector is so crassly ignored.

Before the last election, the Barnet Eye launched a proposal for 1/2 hour free parking in Mill Hill Broadway (our local shopping centre), with a view to rolling the scheme out across Barnet. This would be a massive boost for local traders in a time of economic hardship. Although the retailers universally supported the proposal and the local Tory Councillors agreed that it should be looked at, once elected the Tories forgot this. Under Brian Coleman (Barnet Councillor responsible for parking) they have gone in the opposite direction and become more expensive and more difficult to pay.

The Barnet Eye calls for an urgent review of parking across Barnet. The Federation of Small Business (FSB) has backed the proposals for 1/2 hour free parking in town centres. This seems a sensible compromise. The Barnet Eye supports the following proposals for parking in Barnet :-

1. Free Parking for 1/2 hour in all Town Centres
2. Scratch Cards for all amounts payable by mobile phone
3. A 30% discount on all scratchcard for retailers
4. Scratchcards to be on sale at all local libraries
5. A review of the CPZ parking charges, with a view to a more equitable scheme
6. Removal of the free permit for Barnet Councillors.

Of course this will cost money. Times are hard and the Council will say "typical blogger, suggesting unfundable schemes". There is a simple way to fund this. There is one area of Barnet High Streets that are thriving, which add nothing to the community. This is betting shops. There has been much discussion as to the explosion in numbers of these and the detrimental effect on the High Street. My solution would be to fund the above High Street changes by increasing the cost of a betting shop license to pay for it. I believe that these changes would make the Barnet High Streets a far better place to open a business. If it lead to a reduction in the number of betting shops, even better. Barnet Council has no strategy for improving the local High Streets, beyond the rather unConservative idea of getting a handout from the taxpayer in the form of a bung from the Mayor (as seen in the scheme to tart up High Barnet).

I have discussed these ideas with a couple of more sensible Conservative Councillors and they agreed that the ideas warranted further investigation. Sadly their senior colleagues seem less than interested. From what I've heard they should think again

Does Barnet Council listen to its residents?

In 2008 Barnet Council spent tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers money (ie your money) interviewing residents on video and placing the videos on Youtube. The idea was to prove that they were engaging with citizens and listening to them. This clip is one of those residents and the clip was uploaded on 22nd August 2008. It was filmed in Mill Hill Broadway.


So what have they done since then about this ladies concerns.

a) Teenagers with nothing to do? They have closed the local sports club in Grahame Park way. They have sacked most of the staff at the Rithmyk Project in Canada Villa and they are flogging off the Watling Boys club building.

b) Problems with parking. They've abolished pay and display and replaced it with pay by phone. They've hiked the costs of parking in CPZ's and hiked the costs in car parks.

Which proves what we said at the time. These videos were a complete waste of money. Your money and mine.

MIll Hill Music festival - Day 2 - End of the Night

Just back in from the Adam & Eve. Tonight was a resounding success. Every event (4 so far) has had over 100 people, which is truly incredible. The Adam & Eve gig, featuring Alan Warner and Paul Myerson was in the garden of the pub and we estimate over 150 people attended, which is brilliant for a Sunday night. In all we've had well over 500 people at the gigs. The two I didn't attend were at the Three Hammers, fetauring Ian Bameld Dixieland Jazz band for a Jazz lunch, and the Salvation Army at the John Keble Church. So we've had Rock, Rythm & Blues, Hip Hop, Punk Rock, Dixieland Jazz, a brass band and a truly awesome blues/rock guitarist.

As if that wasn't enough, I spent the afternoon at St Vincents School DJ'ing at the school fete. For Al Warner, I was sound guy. I had to pick up the PA, and be the gofer for the night. The pub looked after us very well and fed us and gave us a beer. Twenty years ago that was pretty standard, doesn't happen quite so often these days. They were over the moon with the evening and have promised to talk about more music. Ticket sales this year are well up on previous festivals, which hopefully indicates that live music is on the up. Before the festival, when we discussed it with the pub, being a new venture they were not really sure if we could deliver a crowd.  By the end of the night, they were thrilled to bits.

We finally got away at 12.15, although the music finished at around 10.30. Musicians like a beer and a chat with friends before they go home. Al Warner is one of the nicest guys in rock and roll. He's also a superb guitarist. We have a night off tomorrow. Mondays is not a great night for gigs, no one comes, so we've learned that if we have a night off, it helps us pace ourselves and keep fresh.

Rather interestingly, when I arrived home I found a "fight the CPZ" leaflet on the other car. They are clearly ramping their campaign up. But as I'm not blogging about politics, I'm not going to discuss it here.

All in all a great start to the festival. Watch this space for piccies & vid clips tomorrow. And buy those tickets, they are selling out fast !

Apology - The Barnet Eye has been nicking other peoples blogs !!!!!!

Yes, it's true. I've been caught red handed. You can either click here :-

http://barnetcpz.blogspot.com/2011/05/invitation-to-public-meeting-thursday-2.html

Or you can read it here :-

Invitation to Public Meeting: Thursday 2 June

Barnet CPZ Action

Newsletter No. 6

31 May 2011

As you may know, as part of our legal case we had asked the Court to set a cap on the amount of costs that David Attfield would have to pay to Barnet Council should the legal action fail.

Sadly, we heard on Friday that the Court has declined to set a limit to David’s financial exposure.  We also now know that Barnet have retained one of the country’s leading QCs, James Goudie QC, to defend the claim.  

We are therefore at a critical stage of the legal action and are exploring a number of ideas for how the action can be continued. We want to share these with you and also seek your views. It’s vital that whatever we do, we have your support.

We are holding a public meeting to discuss the way forward. If you care about CPZ residents (who make up only 10% of the Borough) paying the highest parking charges of any comparable borough, please come!

URGENT PUBLIC MEETING

The New Local Café

42 High Road, N2 9PJ

Thursday 2 June at 8pm

  

Barnet CPZ Action

www.barnetcpz.blogspot.com

Email: Barnetcpz@gmail.com

 

 

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At the Barnet Eye we are quite happy to nick other peoples blogs and post them here if we completely agree with them !!!! Although there is one lie in the above blog. We don't apologise at all for doing it, in fact we are very pleased to help publicise this important meeting