Decision report 201100440

Summary
Mr C complained about the council's refusal to renew his zone 2 parking permit in February 2011 despite him having been issued with one on an annual basis since purchasing his property in 1986. Mr C was unhappy that the council issued his neighbour with a zone 2 permit and that there was no clear advice, consultation or notice from the council that they were implementing the change in practice.

We established that the council had been incorrectly issuing Mr C with a zone 2 permit for around 25 years instead of a zone 6 permit to which he was entitled under the applicable Traffic Regulation Order. Therefore, we concluded that the council acted reasonably and appropriately when informing Mr C that he was not entitled to a zone 2 permit. We also considered that there was insufficient evidence to support that the council would have been in a position to consult with Mr C or his neighbours prior to implementing the change in practice. This is because the problem with Mr C's permit was identified when he attempted to renew his permit online after a new IT system had been implemented.

Although we did not uphold Mr C's complaints, in recognition that he had received a zone 2 permit for the past 25 years and that he wanted to continue with this practice, the council agreed to continue issuing him with a zone 2 permit until amendments have been made to the Traffic Regulation Order.

Recommendations
We recommended that the council:
• remind all staff dealing with permit parking applications to ensure that the correct permits are issued in accordance with the 1973 Order; and
• issue Mr C with a zone 2 permit until the proposed amendments to the 1973 Order have gone through the relevant process.