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Parking: city in control
A controversial car-parking contract is set to be brought under the control of Sunderland Council at a cost of £285,341.
The city's parking system came under intense scrutiny after attendants were filmed making racist and abusive comments, later broadcast in a documentary.
The programme came after a series of blunders in enforcing parking rules across the city, which led to Sunderland Council having to refund thousands of pounds to drivers after dishing out invalid fines.
NCP took on a seven-year contract to oversee parking in 2003 after the council took over enforcement from Northumbria Police.
But now council chiefs have revealed they want to axe NCP's contract, at a cost of more than 285,000, in a bid to restore the public's crumbling confidence.
The authority will have to pay NCP 73,591 to terminate the contract early, a one-off cost of 44,750 to transfer the service and 167,000 a year to run it.
In a report to council chiefs, Phil Barrett, director of development and regeneration, said council staff would not just dish out fines, they would also promote awareness of parking laws.
He also asks the cabinet to approve the move at a meeting on September 27.
He said: "New management arrangements will be required to develop and promulgate a new culture within the service to ensure that public confidence in parking is secured.
"The new arrangements will contribute to making the city's streets safer and more accessible to highway users.
"The new parking service will promote compliance rather than simply practise enforcement.
"It is proposed that the council publishes a parking charter which will inform the public in a clear and transparent way of the criteria to be used in assessing compliance with waiting, loading and parking restrictions."
Last year, after a series of flaws were unveiled, the council was forced to hand back more than 30,000 in unfairly administered fines.
The BBC documentary that followed, alleged there was bribery, illegal ticketing, favouritism, vandalism and racism within NCP, leading to a number of dismissals.
The council aims to take over the contract from December and has said it would take on about 15 extra NCP workers to form a new parking services department at the civic centre.
Neil Herron, the parking campaigner who uncovered many of the council's parking flaws, is still appealing on a number of fines slapped on his car by the council.
He said: "The tickets which have been issued unlawfully, illegally and by parking attendants sacked for gross misconduct, must be refunded.
"By doing all this, Sunderland is admitting they got it seriously wrong."
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Weather for Sunderland
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -2 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Light rain
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