| |
A BILL
To confer further powers upon local authorities in London and upon Transport for London; and for related purposes.
WHEREAS—
(1) It is expedient that the powers of London borough councils and the Common Council of the City of London (hereinafter referred to as “London borough councils”) and of Transport for London should be extended and amended as provided in this Act:
(2) It is expedient that provision be made in Greater London in relation to parking, road traffic, highways, pedicabs, filming on highways and enforcement of penalty charges:
(3) It is expedient that the other provisions contained in this Act should be enacted:
(4) The purposes of this Act cannot be effected without the authority of Parliament:
(5) In relation to the promotion of the Bill for this Act the Westminster City Council have complied with the requirements of section 239 of the Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) and the other London borough councils have complied with the requirements of section 87 of the Local Government Act 1985 (c. 51):
(6) In relation to the promotion of the Bill for this Act Transport for London have complied with the requirements of section 167 of and Schedule 13 to the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (c. 29):
(7) In relation to the promotion of the Bill for this Act the London borough councils have acted through their representation in the Association of London Government, a statutory joint committee whose membership is made up from members of all the London borough councils:
May it therefore please your Majesty that it may be enacted, and be it enacted, by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
PART 1
PRELIMINARY
1 Citation and commencement
| (1) | This Act may be cited as the London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2005.
|
| (2) | This Act, except section 10 (Parking of commercial vehicles), section 12 (Driving on the footway) and Part 4 (Pedicabs) shall come into operation at the end of the period of two months beginning with the date on which it is passed.
|
| (3) | The said sections 10, 12 and Part 4 shall come into operation on the appointed day.
|
2 Interpretation
| |
“the 1984 Act” means the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (c. 27);
|
| |
“the 1991 Act” means the Road Traffic Act 1991 (c. 40);
|
| |
“the 2004 Act” means the Traffic Management Act 2004 (c. 18);
|
| |
“the Act of 2003” means the London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2003 (c. iii);
|
| |
“authorised officer”, in relation to a London authority, a relevant highway authority, a relevant street authority or a relevant traffic authority, means—
|
| (a) | any employee of that authority;
|
| (b) | any person by whom, in pursuance of arrangements made with the authority, any functions under this Act fall to be discharged; or
|
| (c) | any employee of any such person, who is authorised in writing by the authority to act in relation to the relevant provision of this Act;
|
| |
“borough council” means London borough council and includes the Common Council of the City of London in its capacity as a local authority and “borough” and “council” shall be construed accordingly;
|
| |
“London authority” means a borough council or Transport for London, as the case may be;
|
| |
“the relevant highway authority” means—
|
| (a) | the borough council, as respects highways for which they are the highway authority;
|
| (b) | Transport for London, as respects highways for which they are the highway authority;
|
| |
“the relevant street authority” means—
|
| (a) | the borough council, as respects roads for which they are the street authority;
|
| (b) | Transport for London, as respects roads for which they are the street authority, under Part III of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (c. 22);
|
| |
“the relevant traffic authority” means—
|
| (a) | the borough council, as respects roads for which they are the traffic authority;
|
| (b) | Transport for London, as respects roads for which they are the traffic authority.
|
| (2) | The owner of a vehicle for the purposes of this Act shall be taken to be the person by whom the vehicle is kept.
|
| (3) | In determining, for the purposes of this Act, who was the owner of a vehicle at any time, it shall be presumed that the owner was —
|
| (a) | the person in whose name the vehicle was at that time registered under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 (c. 22); or
|
| (b) | in the case of a pedicab, the person in whose name the pedicab was at that time registered under Part 4 (Pedicabs) of this Act.
|
3 Appointed day
| (1) | In subsection (3) of section 1 (Citation and commencement) of this Act “the appointed day” means such day as may be fixed as regards section 10 (Parking of commercial vehicles), section 12 (Driving on the footway) or Part 4 (Pedicabs)—
|
| (a) | by a decision of Transport for London; or
|
| (b) | by resolution of the borough council,as the case may be, subject to and in accordance with the provisions of this section.
|
| (2) | Different days may be fixed under this section for the purpose of the application of provisions of this Act to different areas.
|
| (3) | Different days may be fixed under this section for the purpose of the application of provisions of this Act to an area or any part of an area or different parts of an area.
|
| (4) | The borough council or Transport for London, as the case may be, shall cause to be published in a local newspaper circulating in their area and in the London Gazette, notice—
|
| (a) | of the passing of any such resolution or taking of any such decision and of a day fixed by the resolution or decision; and
|
| (b) | of the general effect of the provisions of this Act coming into operation on that day,
|
| | and the day so fixed shall not be earlier than the expiration of one month from the publication of the said notice. |
| (5) | A photostatic or any other reproduction certified by the officer appointed for that purpose by the borough council or by Transport for London, as the case may be, to be a true reproduction of a page or part of a page of any such newspaper or London Gazette—
|
| (a) | bearing the date of its publication; and
|
| (b) | containing any such notice,
|
| | shall be evidence of the publication of the notice and of the date of publication. |
PART 2
PARKING AND ROAD TRAFFIC
4 Parking and loading etc.: waste collection and street cleansing vehicles
| (1) | Subject to subsection (2) below, there shall be an exemption, as respects vehicles engaged in specified operations, from the operation of any relevant road traffic order which has effect in relation to a road or part of a road for which a London authority is the traffic authority.
|
| (2) | Subsection (1) above shall not apply in any case where the relevant traffic authority has made a road traffic order which states that the relevant road traffic order shall apply to vehicles engaged in specified operations.
|
| (3) | Subsection (1) is without prejudice to any existing road traffic order which provides an exemption for vehicles engaged in the collection of waste by a waste collection authority or the cleaning of a highway by or on behalf of a highway authority at any time.
|
| |
“relevant road traffic order” means any road traffic order which—
|
| (a) | designates any place as a parking place;
|
| (b) | prohibits or restricts the waiting of vehicles on any road;
|
| (c) | relates to any of the matters mentioned in paragraph 7 or 8 of Schedule 1 to the 1984 Act;
|
| (d) | provides that an area of road may only be used by vehicles of a specified class or description;
|
| |
“road traffic order” means an order made under sections 6, 9 or 45 of the 1984 Act;
|
| |
“specified operations” means the collection of waste by a waste collection authority or the cleaning of a highway by or on behalf of a relevant highway authority otherwise than between the hours of 7.00 a.m. and 10.00 a.m. or 4.00 p.m. and 7.00 p.m.;
|
| |
“waste collection authority” means a waste collection authority for the purposes of Part II of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (c. 43) or any person carrying out the functions of such an authority.
|
5 Unpaid charges on unlawful release of vehicle: Road Traffic Act 1991
| (1) | This section applies where an immobilisation device has been fixed to a vehicle by a parking attendant or another person acting under his direction under sections 69 or 77 of the 1991 Act and the vehicle is released from the immobilisation device unlawfully.
|
| (2) | Where this section applies, the person liable to pay the penalty charge in respect of the contravention to which the immobilisation of the vehicle relates shall also be liable to pay the avoided release fee.
|
| (3) | Where this section applies, any notice to owner served by a London authority under paragraph 1 of Schedule 6 to the 1991 Act shall, in addition to those matters mentioned in paragraph 1(1) of that Schedule, state the amount of any avoided release fee.
|
| (4) | Where this section applies, references to the penalty charge in the paragraphs of the said Schedule 6 mentioned in subsection (5) below shall be taken to include references to the avoided release fee and the reference in paragraph 7 of that Schedule to the increased charge shall be taken to include a reference to the increased avoided release fee.
|
| (5) | Those paragraphs are—
|
| (a) | paragraphs 1(2)(c) and (d);
|
| (c) | paragraph 6(1) (in both cases); and
|
| (6) | The grounds on which a person may make representations against a notice to owner under paragraph 2 of the said Schedule 6 shall include, as regards an avoided release fee, the following—
|
| (a) | the immobilisation device was never fixed to the vehicle;
|
| (b) | the immobilisation device was not removed unlawfully.
|
| (7) | In this section “avoided release fee” means any fee which would have been payable under section 69(4)(b) of the 1991 Act had the vehicle been released under that section.
|
6 Unpaid charges on unlawful release of vehicle: Traffic Management Act 2004
| (1) | The Secretary of State may make regulations under section 79 of the 2004 Act (immobilisation of vehicle where penalty charge payable) reproducing the effect of section 5 (Unpaid charges on unlawful release of vehicle: Road Traffic Act 1991) of this Act in relation to Greater London.
|
| (2) | Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) above, such regulations may make provision for the service of notices requiring payment of penalty charges, increased charges and avoided release fees.
|
| (3) | The Lord Chancellor may make regulations under section 80 of the said 2004 Act (representations and appeals) applicable to Greater London dealing with representations and appeals in relation to avoided release fees.
|
7 Limitation on service of notice to owner: parking
| (1) | Section 7 (Limitation on service of notice to owner) of the London Local Authorities Act 2000 (c. vii) shall apply as though the references to “participating councils” included references to Transport for London
|
| (2) | The said section 7 is amended as follows.
|
| (3) | After subsection (2), the following subsections are inserted—
|
| "(2A) | Subsection (2B) below shall apply in the case where payment of the penalty charge has been made or has purportedly been made before the expiry of the period mentioned in subsection (1) above but the payment or purported payment is subsequently cancelled or withdrawn.
|
| "(2B) | Subject to subsection (3) below, where this subsection applies, the participating council may not serve a notice to owner after the expiry of the period of six months from the date on which the council received notification that the payment or purported payment had been cancelled or withdrawn.".
|
| (a) | after paragraph (c), the following paragraph and words are inserted—
|
| "(d) | the date on which the council receives a notification that a payment had been cancelled or withdrawn in the circumstances mentioned in subsection (2A) above;
|
| (b) | the words “subsection (1) or (2) above” are substituted by “subsection (1), (2) or (2B) above, as the case may be”.
|
8 Limitation on service of notice to owner: road traffic contraventions
| (1) | Section 6 (Limitation on service of penalty charge notice) of the Act of 2003 is amended as follows.
|
| (2) | After subsection (2), the following subsections are inserted—
|
| "(2A) | Subsection (2B) below shall apply in the case where payment of the penalty charge has been made or has purportedly been made before the expiry of the period mentioned in subsection (1) above but the payment is subsequently cancelled or withdrawn.
|
| "(2B) | Subject to subsection (3) below, where this subsection applies, the participating council may not serve a notice to owner after the expiry of the period of six months from the date on which the council received notification that the payment had been cancelled or withdrawn.".
|
| (3) | In subsection (4), after paragraph (c), the following paragraph and words are inserted—
|
| "(d) | the date on which the council receives a notification that a payment had been cancelled or withdrawn in the circumstances mentioned in subsection (2A) above;
|
| (4) | in subsection (5) the words “subsection (1) or (2) above” are substituted by “subsection (1), (2) or (2B) above, as the case may be”.
|
9 Parking on footways and footpaths
| (1) | Section 15 (Parking on footways, grass verges, etc) of the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1974 (c. xxiv) is amended as follows.
|
| (a) | the words “with one or more wheels on any part of an urban road” are substituted by “on any part of a road”;
|
| (b) | after “carriageway” the words “or on a footpath” are inserted.
|
| (a) | the words “an urban road” are substituted by “a road”;
|
| (b) | after “other than a carriageway” the words “or on part of a footpath” are inserted;
|
| (c) | the words “urban road” (where those words appear for the second time) are substituted by “road or footpath”.
|
| (4) | In subsection (5), the words “urban road” are substituted by “road or footpath”.
|
| (5) | In subsection (12), the following definition is inserted in the appropriate place—
|
“footpath” means a highway over which the public have a right of way on foot only, not being a footway;".
|
