A bit of background. After being issued with a penalty
notice for not displaying a valid parking disk, Jason Hadlow – the chairman of
Yarm Town Council – appealed to the Parking Adjudicator. After much
consideration, the adjudicator found in Mr Hadlow’s favour, ruling the relevant
signage to be “inadequate” and “ambiguous”. In the days that followed, two
roadsigns were moved from their kerbside location, into the middle of two
parking spaces.
Whilst on the face of it this tale is ostensibly another
amusing one of Stockton Council’s incompetence, the comments of an unnamed
“spokesman for Stockton Council” as reported in today’s Darlington &
Stockton Times are altogether more worrying, being so disingenuous as to be
downright misleading.
The spokesman said, “Two new parking signs have been put up
in Yarm High Street. This is a direct consequence of the recent parking
adjudicator’s decision. It is unfortunate that we have to reduce the spaces but
it is a necessary consequence of the adjudicator’s ruling.”
Firstly, no new signs have been put up; instead, two
existing signs were relocated. Okay, a trivial point, but not a great start by
the spokesman.
Secondly, we come to the claim that the change was a direct
consequence of the adjudicator’s decision. Whilst there is no doubt that the
signs’ previous locations were criticised by the adjudicator, to blame him for
their current location is a gross misrepresentation.
The parking adjudicator has no powers to direct a council to
do anything. His authority starts and finishes with the ability to quash
penalty notices; nothing more, nothing less.
What he actually said was, “Whilst it is not my place to make recommendations about the signing
one obvious step to improve it would be to ensure that the Zone entry signs are
placed next to the carriageway where they are more visible”.
No mention of where they should be moved to, and certainly
no suggestion that there was any need to remove two parking spaces whilst doing
so. The blame for this latest act of
lunacy lies squarely with Stockton Council.
Could they have been placed, as the adjudicator suggested, next
to the carriageway, alongside the existing parking spaces thereby preserving
them? Of course they could. Why weren’t they? Draw your own conclusions.
I don’t however subscribe to the view of many, that the
signs were moved by Stockton Council’s Technical Services out of malice, in
some childish act of revenge at Councillor Hadlow’s victory.
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