Confusion fear on parking shake-up

The organisation fears the new measures, which are to be introduced on October 1, do not go far enough and do not provide sufficient protection from rogue parking operators.

There will be a number of significant changes to the way that parking on private land is managed in the Protection of Freedoms Act, including a ban on clamping and towing away on private land, as well as a new appeals service.

The BPA is warning that motorists are not likely to realise that they will not necessarily be better off than they were before.

The ban on clamping and towing away applies only on private land, and even then there are a number of further exceptions where bylaws give landowners the right to manage their parking in any way they choose. These include car parks at railway stations, airports and port authorities.

Those within the industry have argued that the ban on clamping will not protect motorists at all and that rogue operators will simply turn their hand to illegitimate ticketing.