Bank Holiday Single Yellow Lines Parking Enforcement mixup now being fixed

Camden Council got it wrong in terms of enforcing single yellow lines on Easter bank holidays. Parking staff changed the Council's prior practice and enforced single yellows, contrary to its prior practice on bank holidays of only enforcing double yellow lines, and vehicles parked obstructively or dangerously, and specialist bays such as doctors and disabled bays.

Our traffic management orders do allow the Council to enforce on bank holidays, and therefore none are unlawful, but this was not in line with our practice. There's no need to change it, and it certainly shouldn't have been changed without consultation.

The Council issued 1,119 PCNs on the two bank holiday days to vehicles parked on single yellow lines - all of these have now rightly been cancelled. Around 240 payments have been received, the great bulk by credit/debit card which can be refunded easily. Only the 13 paid by cash/cheques will be more difficult to cancel in that contact details will be needed but this work is now under way.

Camden Council will now communicate clearly in the run-up to the next bank holiday that we are NOT enforcing single yellow lines.

Our communications will however point out that some central London authorities do enforce single yellow lines on bank holidays, and that drivers do need to check on authority websites.

Longer term we will work with other central London authorities to try and ensure a single approach across central London, which would be much clearer for all concerned (though there is a tension always with "localism").

It's obviously a regrettable incident and lessons will be learned, but council managers have taken responsibility and are now getting this sorted.