New parking rules come into force for millions of drivers in England
The new parking rules have come into force, which will allow drivers to pay for their parking on their preferred app, rather than having to download multiple different payment apps
All drivers in England can look forward to a major change that's set to make parking a whole lot easier. The Labour Party government has introduced the new National Parking Platform, which promises to end the scourge of unjust parking fines and offers a single app solution for payment.
Labour announced plans to implement the National Parking Platform to allow motorists to use their chosen app for parking payments, rather than juggling several apps. Anthony Eskinazi, founder and president of JustPark, is now a director of the National Parking Platform.
He said: "By allowing drivers to choose their preferred parking app, it eliminates unnecessary complexity and makes parking simpler and more convenient. It is ultimately about giving drivers genuine choice over their preferred app.
"JustPark is proud to have contributed to shaping the platform's vision, and as a company, we will continue to support its roll-out across the country, led by the British Parking Association."
Rod Dennis from the RAC welcomed the initiative, saying: "Paying to park a car should be one of the simplest things any driver does, but things have got much more complicated in recent years - a point demonstrated by the fact there are so many different mobile parking apps.
"If the arrival of a National Parking Platform removes that hassle, it's definitely a welcome move. But the key will be ensuring as many car park operators as possible sign up to the system."
Labour Party Minister of the Future of Roads, Lilian Greenwood, said: "This government is on the side of drivers and dedicated to giving everyone simpler, more flexible parking.
Delighted at the lack of taxpayer burden, she added: "I'm delighted that this fantastic project is being taken on by the parking sector with no extra cost to taxpayers."
Expanding on infrastructure improvements, Birmingham Live reports that Ms Greenwood said: "This is public infrastructure done right: built by government, shaped with councils and now delivered by the sector that knows it best, at a time where we're investing a record £1.6 billion through our Plan for Change, to mend our pothole-ridden roads that damage cars and £4.8 billion to deliver new road infrastructure that will better connect people."
BPA Chief Executive Andrew Pester also weighed in with enthusiasm for the initiative, saying: "Today's announcement marks the result of 6 years of dedicated work by our parking sector to make paying for parking easier."
In light of their support for the National Parking Platform, he expressed his excitement: "We've strongly supported the National Parking Platform from the start, so we're thrilled with this outcome and excited to collaborate with the Department for Transport and the new NPP company to create a better parking experience for all drivers."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Angela Rayner faces Labour backbench rebellion over her plans to build 1.5million new homes in England by 2029
could face a backbench rebellion from Labour MPs over the party's drive to build 1.5 million homes in England by 2029. The Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary is fronting the Government's 'radical' overhaul of the planning system, which aims to revive housing targets for local councils and 'get Britain building again'. Its plans would require 370,000 homes to be built each year, which industry leaders claim there is 'little chance' of reaching as figures show the party is already falling short of its target by 170,000. And now, in the latest a blow to Ms Rayner's housebuilding goals, one Labour MP has threatened to trigger civil war over his demands to find a 'progressive alternative' to parts of her proposals. Labour 's Chris Hinchliff has proposed a suite of changes to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill ahead of its debate in Parliament on Monday. The North East Hertfordshire MP has suggested arming town halls with the power to block developers' housebuilding plans, if they have failed to finish their previous projects. He has also suggested housebuilding objectors should be able to appeal against green-lit large developments, if they are not on sites which a council has set aside for building. Mr Hinchliff has claimed he does not 'want to rebel' but said he would be prepared to trigger a vote over his proposals. He added his ambition was for 'a progressive alternative to our planning system and the developer-led profit-motivated model that we have at the moment'. Mr Hinchliff said: 'Frankly, to deliver the genuinely affordable housing that we need for communities like those I represent, we just have to smash that model. 'So, what I'm setting out is a set of proposals that would focus on delivering the genuinely affordable homes that we need, empowering local communities and councils to have a driving say over what happens in the local area, and also securing genuine protection for the environment going forwards.' Mr Hinchliff warned that the current system results in 'speculative' applications on land which falls outside of councils' local housebuilding strategies, 'putting significant pressure on inadequate local infrastructure'. In his constituency, which lies between London and Cambridge, 'the properties that are being built are not there to meet local need', Mr Hinchliff said, but were instead 'there to be sold for the maximum profit the developer can make'. Asked whether his proposals chimed with the first of Labour's five 'missions' at last year's general election - 'growth' - he replied: 'If we want to have the key workers that our communities need - the nurses, the social care workers, the bus drivers, the posties - they need to have genuinely affordable homes. 'You can't have that thriving economy without the workforce there, but at the moment, the housing that we are delivering is not likely to be affordable for those sorts of roles. 'It's effectively turning the towns into commuter dormitories rather than having thriving local economies, so for me, yes, it is about supporting the local economy.' Mr Hinchliff warned that the 'bottleneck' which slows housebuilding 'is not process, it's profit'. Among the proposed reforms is a power for ministers to decide which schemes should come before councillors, and which should be delegated to local authority staff, so that committees can 'focus their resources on complex or contentious development where local democratic oversight is required'. Natural England will also be able to draft 'environmental delivery plans (EDPs)' and acquire land compulsorily to bolster conservation efforts. Mr Hinchliff has suggested these EDPs must come with a timeline for their implementation, and that developers should improve the conservation status of any environmental features before causing 'damage' - a proposal which has support from at least 43 cross-party MP backers. MPs will spend two days debating the Bill on Monday and Tuesday. Chris Curtis, the Labour MP for Milton Keynes North, warned that some of Mr Hinchliff's proposals 'if enacted, would deepen our housing crisis and push more families into poverty'. He said: 'I won't stand by and watch more children in the country end up struggling in temporary accommodation to appease pressure groups. No Labour MP should. 'It's morally reprehensible to play games with this issue. These amendments should be withdrawn.' The prospect of a backbench rebellion sparks another blow to the Government's housebuilding plans just one day after a report cast doubt on whether it would be able to meet its 2029 target at all. A bleak report by the Home Builders Federation yesterday showed Labour is falling short of its target by 170,000 homes a year. Industry leaders said the data was 'disastrous' and without urgent support from ministers there is 'little chance' of reaching the goal. Just 39,170 homes were given planning permission in England in the first three months of the year – the lowest quarterly figure since records began. That was a 55 per cent drop on the previous quarter and almost 32 per cent lower than a year earlier. The 225,067 units given approval in the 12 months to the end of March was the worst performance in 12 years. The federation said its data 'starkly illustrates the urgent need for Government to address the barriers to housing supply' if they are to get 'anywhere near the much-vaunted' target.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Reeves urged to fund libraries, parks and social centres in left-behind areas
'Red wall' Labour MPs are urging Rachel Reeves to fund grassroots 'social infrastructure' such as parks, community centres and libraries, as well as high-profile transport projects, to ensure voters in left-behind areas can benefit from growth. The Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods (Icon), chaired by the Labour peer Hilary Armstrong and supported by a string of backbenchers, has identified 613 'mission critical' local areas. It is calling on the government to pilot community-led regeneration schemes in places like these – which are defined as those furthest away from contributing to Labour's targets, including on growth and social mobility. Such neighbourhoods are characterised by higher unemployment, 'dramatically higher' welfare spending, and 40% lower productivity than the national average, Icon finds – and many voted Reform in last month's local elections. Ahead of next week's spending review, Reeves trumpeted plans for an additional £113bn in capital spending over the next five years, including £15bn on transport projects outside London and the south-east. The chancellor's rewritten fiscal rules allow for a significant expansion in borrowing to fund such investment, which Reeves has called 'the lifeblood of growth'. But the commission argues many projects that would be classified as day-to-day spending, which is more tightly constrained under Reeves's rules, are essential for improving long-neglected local areas. 'Buses and trams are important, but they're not the whole picture,' said Armstrong, who was the Labour MP for North West Durham from 1987 to 2010. 'The problem is that big infrastructure projects, like, you know, trains, bridges, roads, take a long time, and people don't really feel that they're in control of what's happening.' She added: 'Unless people are getting the skills, feel confident about who they are and what their opportunities are and actually believe that they are able to build real opportunities for their kids, for their families, for their communities, then they're not going to be doing the work that will add to the growth of the economy.' Jake Richards, the MP for Rother Valley, said: 'Transport and other infrastructure projects are really important, but we must not overlook the importance of social infrastructure, which will be critical to the government's missions. Sure Start is perhaps the best example of this, bringing remarkable benefits for millions of families in our most disadvantaged communities.' Armstrong cited a project in Wolverhampton the commission recently visited, which employed a chef to cater for community lunches. 'They came together and they chatted and they talked and they set things up coming out of it,' she said. She called on the Treasury to consider social infrastructure when judging how funds should be disbursed. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion 'It's about, how do you get a sense of pride in where you come from, where you live, neighbours that you can talk to because you share a meal with them once a week, or something – it's actually enabling people to get to know each other a bit better and be more confident in each other. That will absolutely transform people's lives.' Chris Webb, the MP for Blackpool South, said: 'Towns like Blackpool, the most deprived in England, are poorly served by traditional economic infrastructure, which tends to benefit the big cities more than isolated coastal towns. This government must draw on our party's proud history of rebuilding communities to directly invest in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.' The North Durham MP, Luke Akehurst, said: 'Investing in social infrastructure such as community centres, parks and libraries, would start to plug my constituency back into the national economy, which it has been excluded from for far too long.' Icon is funded by the Local Trust, which was set up to implement Big Local, a national lottery-funded project due to end next year, that gave more than 150 neighbourhoods more than £1m each to spend over a decade on locally led regeneration and fostering community connections. Analysis of Big Local by Icon suggests these areas saw greater declines in crime and smaller increases in economic inactivity than similar neighbourhoods outside the scheme.
The Herald Scotland
2 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Reform is a serious political force in Scotland but Tories in trouble
Formerly a seat where the SNP could be confident of winning a substantial majority, Hamilton is now a marginal seat for the first time, with a Labour majority of just 602 votes over the SNP. Reform UK is clearly on the march in Scotland, and this result bears out the surge in support for the party seen in British-wide opinion polls so far this year, with over a quarter of voters who turned out in Hamilton casting their vote for the party. Read more It would be wrong to read too much into one by-election result. By-elections are unusual events, where governments tend to lose support, people may vote in protest and turnout is typically much lower than at Holyrood elections. Nonetheless, the result in Hamilton will matter to all Scotland's parties for its symbolic importance ahead of next May's Scottish Parliament elections. For Scottish Labour, this by-election win will help to reverse the recent narrative of Labour decline. Following the party's slump in the polls over the last 10 months, the result signals that Labour can still win in Scotland and will put wind back in the party's sails. It underlines that listening to and acting on voters' concerns can help to turn the party's fortunes around – Keir Starmer's announcement of a U-turn on cuts to the winter fuel payment may well have helped the party's popularity among voters in Hamilton. The win will also give the UK Labour Party a much-needed boost, after its heavy losses in parts of England at May's local elections, losing the Runcorn by-election to Reform UK and trailing 7 points behind Reform UK in the polls UK-wide. Nigel Farage is less popular in Scotland than he is in England (Image: free) The result is a major blow to the SNP, who were widely tipped to win the seat. While incumbent governments tend to suffer at by-elections, Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse is the kind of central belt seat that the SNP will need to retain if it is to hold onto power in Scotland next May. This result is an early sign that that will be a tough contest. The SNP has topped recent national polls, with a double-digit lead over Scottish Labour – a remarkable position for a party that has been in power in Scotland for 18 years. This by-election will be an unwelcome reminder that voters' preferences can and do shift. While John Swinney is widely seen as having steadied the ship since his election as party leader last May – and is the least unpopular of any of the party leaders among voters – this result suggests more turbulent times may lie ahead for the SNP. Reform UK were the unknown quantity ahead of this by-election. Their performance in Hamilton, finishing less than 1,000 votes behind the SNP, proves that the party can attract significant swathes of voters north of the border as well as in England. The result emphasises that Reform UK are now a serious political force in Scotland. Ahead of the next Holyrood elections, the party has a real opportunity to paint itself as the home for voters who want change. While Nigel Farage is less popular in Scotland than he is in England, this does not appear to have been holding the party back in the polls – reflecting that the rise of Reform UK may be being driven by wider public dissatisfaction and the unpopularity of other parties more than by views of its leadership. The result signals continued gloom for the Conservatives in Scotland. While the party was widely expected to come fourth, this was a poor result for Russell Findlay's party, who managed to hang onto their deposit with 6% of the vote. Read more The pattern seen in recent Scotland polls of the Conservatives haemorrhaging voter support to Reform has been borne out at this by-election. On this evidence, the Conservatives have a mountain to climb if they are to convince Scottish voters to lend them their votes next May. Will the result in Hamilton turn out to be a sign of which way the electoral winds are blowing ahead of Holyrood elections next May? It certainly underlines that this is a time of volatility in Scottish politics and shifting voter preferences. While Anas Sarwar and his team will take heart from this win, Scottish Labour's fortunes are closely connected with those of the UK party. How Scotland's voters are feeling about the UK Government's performance under Keir Starmer's leadership is likely to be an important factor shaping voter support at the ballot box. If it is to take seats from the SNP next May, Scottish Labour needs to show those who voted for the UK party at the General Election because of issues like public services, the cost of living and inequality that they were right to do so. Emily Gray, Managing Director, Ipsos Scotland
