London Councils is launching an independent appeals service for motorists that have incurred parking charges on private land.
The representative body will set up the Parking on Private Land Appeals Scheme (POPLA) for England and Wales, providing a regulating adjudicator to issue verdicts on parking charges made on private land.
Once the fine has been made and the enforcer’s appeals process has been completed, the motorist will be able to take their case to POPLA which will make a binding decision on the actions of the organisation issuing the parking charge.
Funded by groups which enforce parking on private land through the British Parking Association (BPA), it has been estimated that POPLA will require £772,000 per annum if parking appeals are made in a similar proportion as currently seen on public roads.
The BPA has agreed to provide London Councils with a three-year contract to run the scheme.
POPLA will be launched to coincide with the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, which will ban clamping and the removal of vehicles parked on private land from 1 October.
Catherine West, chair of London Councils’ transport and environment committee, said: ‘There is currently little regulation of parking on private land and no equivalent of the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service which hears appeals from motorists who have been issued with parking charges on public roads. This scheme will provide an independent arbitration service for appeals from motorists to be settled in a fair and transparent way.’
