Redbridge Council - Checkmate leads to cheque mate!

 

It is the law that costs in PCN Appeals are rarely awarded. A party has to be frivolous, vexatious or wholly unreasonable.  Mr Mustard hit the bar on an application he made, Barnet Council were found to be unreasonable but not wholly so. Not a great accolade though, merely unreasonable.

A friend is getting all of the 2021 costs case for his own learning and sharing them with Mr Mustard. Redbridge only suffered the one award due to their failure to properly consider the representations, a legal requirement.

The tribunal decision was a model of brevity and contained all that was required, the case number is 2200516219.

Mr Attalia applied for costs and that is reasonable given how his time had been wasted and given that 99% of motorists would have assumed the council knew what it was doing and paid up, which is the point of most rejections, councils might as well just write 'show us the money'. Luckily there are enough motorists who stand up and are counted to stop the PCN system becoming an even more unbalanced system. Costs were allowed but are a fleabite to the council who were themselves trying to obtain £130 by false pretences.

The end.

Environment Committee - Tuesday 27 January 2015 at 7pm

On Tuesday the Environment Committee will vote on the new Resident Permit charges which are now based on emissions and this is what officers are proposing, for the "first" car (the first one you have to renew under the new arrangements. If you can organise your lowest emissions car to be renewed first that will save you money).

Your electric car permit won't now cost anything (although this is an oddity as it must take the same amount of energy to move you in an all electric car; it's just that the emissions are where the electricity was generated)

Here are some new permits which Mr Mustard predicts there won't be a stampede to purchase. The council really must get away from the idea that they can soak businesses in cost and move towards wondering how they can make the life of businesses easier at reasonable cost in order to attract more businesses to Barnet.

If you want a space for a removals van outside your house try talking to your neighbours to see if you can organise space for the van between yourselves rather than paying these excessive amounts to the council

Mr Mustard doesn't see why teachers should get special treatment over any other type of employee within the borough, you can also have your say soon. If teachers are to be allowed permits then so should every other type of employee within a CPZ.

The latest money spinner is finally arriving, issuing penalties for moving traffic contraventions, or in the case of yellow box junctions, not moving when you should be.

It was back on 1 May 2012 that most of the staff who responded to challenges to PCN were made redundant when their jobs were moved to Croydon. Now 12 roles are coming back to Barnet (hurrah) (and assuming councillors vote in favour which seems likely) and hopefully this increased local knowledge will lead to better decisions being made. 

Mr Mustard promises to put the new team through their paces.

Be warned though, that the council intend to make a packet out of the new contraventions. You will need to up your driving game. Computers will watch your every move and miss nothing.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

p.s. your second car will be a flat rate £70 and not based on emissions at all, so you might as well order that 3.5 litre monster.