GDPR - subject access request - good news - no fee

The right to obtain your personal information hasn't changed but what is really useful from today, is that councils can no longer charge the optional up to £10 fee unless you go overboard:

and that they also have to respond within a calendar month whereas before it was 40 days.

Currently when you challenge a PCN, or a Notice to Owner, you don't know what cards the council has in its hand, as you don't know what notes the traffic warden (CEO - Civil Enforcement Officer) made. Now you can find out fairly quickly for free. If you limit your request to that information, it cannot possibly be excessive. Then you can make a more informed decision as to whether to fight or pay.

Another time when it will be handy is when you have moved and a bailiff has popped up with a warrant for a PCN you know nothing about. Then it would be reasonable to ask to see everything.

If you have a Notice to Owner but not the original PCN from the car, you might want to ask for a copy of the PCN so that you can check how long your vehicle was observed for.

To make your Subject Access Request you simply need to write a letter setting out the information you require and send your V5 registration document as that proves identity and location (the council does not know who owns the car when they issue a PCN on street) to Information Management Team, North London Business Park, Oakleigh Road South, London N11 1NP or by email to data.protection@barnet.gov.uk

The above are simply Mr Mustard's suggestions as to what data you might want to ask for about yourself but don't let that fetter what you ask for.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

Good news story - not in Barnet though

http://westnorwood.wordpress.com/

This is the kind of story Mr Mustard would like to read in Barnet.  Lambeth Council evidently listen harder to their traders than Barnet do. Hence that could be why West Norwood, which Mr Mustard knows well, is now doing reasonably well despite it not being a main town centre.

From the Standard

 

Shopkeepers were celebrating today after Lambeth council eased parking restrictions around their businesses which they claimed hit trade.

West Norwood High Street shoppers can now park free for an hour rather than just 30 minutes. Antonia Beamish, 41, owner of Beamish & McGlue grocery shop and café, said takings fell 30 per cent under the half-hour rule. “When we first opened in 2005, you were free to park all around this area,” she said. (Dean Cohen take note, this is what Barnet's traders have been saying, a 30% to 40% drop in trade due to removal of meters)

“About two years later, the council made the changes and it made a massive difference. We have been suffocated by these measures.” However, Miss Beamish insisted: “For a thriving high street, we need a two-hour free parking minimum and no restrictions on Saturdays.”

The changes came after Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles said he wanted to end the “overzealous culture of parking enforcement” because the “rigid state orthodoxy of persecuting motorists” damages small businesses across the UK.

Parking meter charges of up to £3 an hour remain an issue in West Norwood, said Stav Tsoukkas, 32, who owns the Electric Café: “The tariffs are very high and although there are free bays, they get taken up very quickly.”

Imogen Walker, Lambeth council cabinet member for environment, said: “We have extended the time people can stop for free in parking bays along the High Street. Further free parking in side-street bays was extended to 60 minutes in December, which has made it easier for people who want to stop for a meal. (only if they bolt their food)

“We have been putting a stronger focus on making sure our civil enforcement officers are helpful to motorists, for example by advising them on where they can and can’t park.” (Helpful traffic wardens - gosh)

There is still scope for improvement in Lambeth. In Norwood Rd (that is the name of the road on which Beamish & McGlue are situated) from 1 April 12 to 28 February 13 there were 267 parking tickets issued by a traffic warden on foot and 2801 by stealthy cctv. That will be about £200,000 that the council have raked in from penalty charges.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

Wanted - parking meters please.

Part of the rather thin justification for getting rid of parking meters was the cost of dealing with vandalism and repairing machines. Nowhere did Mr Mustard see any document from the council setting out what steps they had taken to prevent vandalism (which wasn't quantified and probably not as bad as made out).

Whilst in Carcassone at New Year Mr Mustard noticed this machine in a public car park (he had himself parked the blogger bus on the other side of the car park, about 10m down a hill where it was free to park (why pay when you can walk the extra 10m?).

So here is a parking meter which is installed inside a solid metal cage. This both discourages casual vandalism as power tools will be needed for any attack and makes the cash box within much more secure. You can see the cctv camera on the right hand outside of the cage. There was another on the left hand side. It seems likely that vandalism of any of these machines in remote locations will have virtually ceased. Graffiti is common in France. There was none on this machine.

In addition the meter accepts cash in the form of notes or coins (the first hour was free) and credit cards.

What a pity that those in charge at Barnet Council didn't have sufficiently open minds to look at other options when they removed the meters. Maybe they will start to think for the future once they read this blog post.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

Brent Cross - a free photography exhibition

style in the subway

A guest blog:

Hi!

I'd like to invite you to see my upcoming photography show "My Brent Cross" as I think it could be something you might be interested in.

As a resident of the Brent Cross area I've been very interested in the planned regeneration programme, and for my final year of my Photography degree I have been working on a series exploring this theme.

The series is about Brent Cross the area, the shopping centre and the people - as they are now - from the perspective of an emerging artist who lives in the Brent Cross area.

 

The series will be exhibited at the Middlesex university photography degree show and it would be great if you fancy coming to see the show.

The exhibition will be held at the Old Truman Brewery, F- Block, 91 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL, Sunday 10th June - Monday 11th June from 10am-7pm.

Many thanks and all the best,

CY Frankel

 

 

Do please go along. It is a free exhibition. Please support your local artist.

 

Yours frugally (hard to get more frugal than free) 

 

Mr Mustard

The law of unintended consequences

This blog post was written two days ago and was held back to let the joint blogger letter go first.

Here is another DPR (Delegated Powers Report) that has come out of the council and this one they caused to be needed.

1621 Bittacy Hill Waiting Restrictions

By removing all of the free bays inside CPZs the council managed to move cars which used to park perfectly safely in a designated bay (albeit without charge) into other locations, one of which, Bittacy Hill, now needs yellow lines at its northern end. Will all those motorists suddenly decide to start paying for parking? no, mostly they will find somewhere else that is free (as to their credit the ward councillors do realise; maybe they could campaign for the free bays to return? that is called "Doing a Rams" voting for a policy and then consulting against it.) 

They are paying enough for petrol and for their train ticket (if they are one of those cheeky commuters who "are customarily used to parking in close proximity to ...train stations") and either can't or won't pay any more. Mr Mustard himself likes to park on the edge of CPZ and walk the rest because he won't pay (too mean) and because he likes to take a little exercise.

Putting yellow lines at the junctions is a good idea as although no-one should be parking within 10m of a junction, many people do, and they shouldn't according to the Highway Code (except when a CPZ bay actually goes nearer).

This exercise has cost £4,620 and was entirely predictable, except by Barnet Council of course.

A scooter is a possible solution, at least for the summer months. Do get training though if you have not ridden for a while.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard