Westminster City Council has won a long-protracted battle with campaigners over the legality of charging motorbikes to park in the borough.
This morning, the High Court threw out an attempt by Warren Djanogly, of the ‘No To Motorbike Parking Fees’ group, to stop the council from charging motorcyclists £1 per day to use on-street parking.| "I want to make clear that this is not about the council versus motorcyclists who we see as an important part of central London's transport mix." Cllr Lee Rowley, Westminster's cabinet member for parking and transportation |
Cllr Lee Rowley, Westminster's cabinet member for parking and transportation, said: 'Our decision to charge motorcyclists £1 per day to park has been rigorously scrutinised, open to widespread public debate and has now been tested in the High Court.
'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 I'm glad the judge has re-iterated this.
'This case has cost local taxpayers tens of thousand of pounds in legal fees and staff time and we hope this ruling will draw a line under the issue.'
The council claimed the group had attempted to 'paralyse' central London during a series of weekly demonstrations in and around Trafalgar Square. A statement issued by the council added police had also been called a number of time to remove protestors from blocking the entrance of city hall.
Cllr Rowley added: 'I want to make clear that this is not about the council versus motorcyclists who we see as an important part of central London's transport mix.
'We were one of the first councils in the country to permit motorcycles to drive in bus lanes and as a council, we will always want to work with the motorcycling community - along with everyone who uses Westminster's roads - on how to improve transport and parking facilities in the city.'
