No justification for the CPZ price increases

As you doubtless all know a judicial review is planned by a group of residents, led by the Solicitor David Attfield, to fight the unjustified and excessive price increases for Car Permits and Visitor Vouchers in Barnet  borough which came into effect ( for now at any rate ) in April 2011.

Please go to this link http://barnetcpz.blogspot.com/

and donate to the cause as another £6,000 is needed for the battle with the Council.

How do we come to the situation where the Council have increased Visitor Vouchers from £1 to £4 and the permit for the first car in a household from £40 to £100 ? i.e. way above inflation.

Well firstly, the Government this year wanted Councils to freeze Council Tax and they received extra money if they did so, so that was a powerful incentive. ( see link below about the Council Tax Freeze )

http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/1746641

Secondly, there was less money in the pot and so some services have to be cut over the next 3 years.

Thirdly, the surplus from parking can only be spent on certain categories of expense such as Highway Maintenance, the Freedom Pass ( £11m ) and like items and whatever amount is not raised from Parking has to come from Council Tax in general.

So, if the parking charges had not been put up by the projected £2million+ then either Council tax would have to go up by about £10 per household ( which was not politically expedient ) or some other service would have to be cut by another £2million ( although that should have been the proper course of action - Mr Mustard could easily find you £2m of One Barnet consultants & schemes to chop as well as all those non-job people )

The timing of the Council is unfortunate as the categories of spending on which the Parking Account Surplus have to be spent are as follows :-

Activity	Actual	Actual	Actual	Actual	Budget	Budget
	2006-7	2007-8	2008-9	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12
	(£,000)	(£,000)	(£,000)	(£,000)	(£,000)	(£,000)
Safer Routes	44	176	189	130	89	tba
Highways Investment Programme	2,522	2,719	2,347	1,970	1,600	2,032
Carriageways & Footways Planned Maintenance (Capital & Revenue)	3,045	4,663	4,780	3,286	1,851	1,872
Concessionary Fares	9,747	10,453	10,138	8,366	11,162	11,185
SEN Transport	1,565	1,625	1,780	1,610	1,593	1,293
Highways Maintenance	1,793	2,137	2,682	2,676	2,438	845
	18,716	21,773	21,916	18,038	18,733	17,227

  and the totals in chart form

So there it is: a reduction in spending on qualifying purposes and an increase of over £2million that a small percentage of residents, who just happen to live inside a CPZ, have to pay. Absolutely unjust and hence the Judicial Review.

Please, if you enjoy my blog, or if you live in a Barnet CPZ, donate at least £10 to the cause and help bring justice & democracy back to Barnet.

Barnet CPZ blogspot Paypal account

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

( who has put his hand in his pocket and sent £100 to the CPZ cause. )