Overnight Camping on the Highway and in Car Parks

BOROUGH OF POOLE

TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY GROUP – thursday 30 NOVEMBER 2006

REPORT OF ACTING HEAD OF TRANSPORTATION SERVICES

overnight CaMping on the Highway and in car parks

1.Purpose of the Report and Policy Context

1.1To consider the powers that the council has available to prevent overnight camping on the highway and in car parks.

2Recommendation

2.1It is recommended that:

i)Warning notices, as described in section 4 below, be issued to any vehicles that appear to be camping in Council car parks or on-street pay and display parking areas.

ii)The number of warning notices issued will be reported to the Transportation Advisory Group at the end of summer 2007 to allow decisions to be made on further restrictions as part of the 2008/9 changes.

iii)That whilst the legal constraints and practical difficulties of preventing overnight camping on the highway are noted, the Legal and Democratic Services Unit continue to look at alternative methods of enforcement to support the work recommended in i) and ii) above.

3Information

3.1The council periodically receives complaints that motorcaravan or caravan owners are sleeping overnight on the highway or in car parks.

Car Parks

3.2Council Car Park Orders include a prohibition on a range of activities that are not directly related to parking. These include overnight sleeping, cooking, washing and a variety of other activities. These activities were previously enforced by Excess Charge Tickets, but the change to Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) in 2002 requires car parks to be enforced with Penalty Charge Notices(PCNs). The circumstances in which Councils are allowed to issue PCNs are much more circumscribed than under the previous regime and generally the guidance indicates that they are only to be used for contraventions involving duration or position of parking or incorrect payment. The DPE arrangements would not normally cover activities carried out by the driver. Parking Attendants' ticket issuing machines can only issue PCNs as described in the list of nationally recognised contravention descriptions and codes. PCNs issued by the council are subject to appeal to an independent adjudicator who would ensure that the council complies with the DPE regulations.

3.3The car park signs and ticket machine fascias include warnings against camping, cooking etc. The car parks are regularly patrolled by Council Parking Attendants who issue warnings to drivers who appear to be camping overnight. The two car parks at Harbourside Park are locked at night and a note is made of any vehicle any vehicle that is still in the car park but there is not generally a nightime patrol of any of the council’s other car parks.

On-Street Pay and Display areas

3.4These areas are subject to the same restrictions as the car parks, but being on Public Highway, the parking bays are open 24hrs a day. The pay and display areas at Harbourside Park and Banks Road are particularly appropriate for use by Motorcaravans as the large vehicles do not have to fit into marked bays. Imposing an overnight ban would not be appropriate as the limit would need to apply to all vehicles and, in the Baiter Park area the bays are used by residents and their visitors overnight.

Camping on the Highway

3.5There is no regulation preventing members of the public from sleeping, cooking or washing in a vehicle on the public highway except the general Highways Act 1980 prohibition against obstruction. Unfortunately this is largely irrelevant in respect of an area that is set aside for on-street parking. Although public order powers have been used to remove campers from Ferry Road, Studland the powers are inappropriate for use in relation to the different type of problem in Poole.

3.6Councils can only impose and enforce traffic or parking related regulations on the public highway (ie for parking in the wrong place or for overstaying a time limit), not for activities in the vehicle. Parking enforcement is carried out under Decriminalised Powers, granted by the Government, with a right of appeal to an independent Adjudicator. The Council can only enforce a parking contravention under its decriminalised powers and could not issue a Penalty Charge Notice to a driver who was sleeping in the vehicle, even if a Traffic Order was made with this provision.

3.7A “cars only” restriction was introduced as part of the beach area parking scheme that was introduced in the early 1990s. The council has been advised that it cannot enforce a restriction of this type without extensive additional signage and amendments to the Traffic Order. The scheme has already been challenged by motorcaravan owners and there are no plans to extend the scheme. The restriction would cause difficulties for any resident bringing a motorcaravan to their home or receiving visits from motorcaravan owners. A “cars only” restriction would also apply to tradespeoples’ vans which would mean that residents could have difficulty in finding tradespersons to carry out work for them.

3.8Very similar restrictions are being used on a smaller scale in Bournemouth and Dorset. These schemes need extensive signing and unless some other restriction is being introduced at the same time, it would be hard justify this to deal with an occasional problem. There are complaints about occasional overnight sleeping from a number of parts of the Borough and it would not be appropriate to introduce a scheme in some roads when other parts of the borough would be unprotected. A “cars only” restriction would force motorcaravan owners to find other places to park even when they had no intention of camping overnight.

4.Suggested Actions

4.1The Council does not currently patrol it’s car parks overnight and it is difficult to establish whether overnight camping is enough of a problem to justify introducing measures that will also inconvenience other users. In view of the legal difficulties, Parking Attendants have not been taking action against overnight camping even if this was brought to their attention. The two Harbourside Park car parks are unusual in that they are locked at midnight and the Attendant could be instructed to issue a warning notice to any vehicle which looks likely to be used for camping after he locks the gate. This will give an indication of the extent of the problem and how effective a warning notice is.

4.2The security firm will also be instructed to note any motorcaravans that appear to be camping overnight in the Pay and Display areas in Newfoundland, Catalina and Labrador Drives and issue warning notices. Parking Attendants will not normally be in a position to identify overnight camping in any of the other car parks or Pay and Display areas but they will issue warning notices in any cases that are brought to their attention – inevitably this will only be on the subsequent evening. The Council would only be able to issue warning notices to vehicles that are in car parks or Pay and Display spaces because there is no prohibition on camping elsewhere.

4.3The council would be able to change the signs in the Harbourside Park car parks to give a stronger warning that PCNs will be issued to vehicles that park overnight (as they are closed after midnight). PCNs would have to be issued to all vehicles, regardless of size, whether or not there is an occupant inside. The car park is also used, on occasions, by overnight fishermen and boat users making longer trips and the Council would also be forced to penalise them if this change was introduced. The experience gained from issuing warning notices through the summer of 2007 would help this Committee to decide whether or not this change could be justified when they consider the annual parking changes for the 2008/9 year. Legal and Democratic Services are continuing to investigate whether there are any other methods of enforcement that would avoid the problems highlighted in this report and which would not have the effect of penalising legitimate users.

4.4When considering this change, this Committee would also need to consider the practicalities of issuing PCNs overnight and the possibility of merely displacing overnight campers into the pay and display spaces along Catalina and Labrador Drive, where they would be even more unneighbourly, or to the nearby Newfoundland Drive car park or other car parks that do not close at midnight.

4.5It is alleged that articles have appeared in national publications advising motorcaravan users that the Harbourside car parks offer the best free overnight parking facilities on the South Coast. The Borough of Poole currently have a very positive relationship with the media who consider this Authority already provides good general parking facilities for these users. It is proposed to undertake a media exercise explaining that if this overnight parking situation continues, then it jeopardises future provision. This message will be given similarly on the notices to be placed on offending vehicles during 2007.

4.6It has also been suggested that Bylaws are another possible method of enforcement that could be tried. At present Bylaws can only be obtained with the consent of the Secretary of State. There is a long established legal principle that a bylaw can only be confirmed where there are no other powers deriving from primary legislation. As the law stands at present it is very unlikely that the Secretary of State would confirm any Bylaws relating to parking offences. The recent White Paper on local government hints that the power to create Bylaws will be extended but until draft legislation is available it is not known whether the existing restrictions will be relaxed. It is proposed to keep this under review.

STEVE TITE

Acting Head of Transportation Services

TIM MARTIN

Head of Legal and Democratic Services

Name and Telephone Number of Officer Contact: Steve Dean (01202) 262071

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