Upfront Above and beyond Andrew Pester on the strength of the BPA community It is heart-warming to see how our BPA community has come together in record numbers to share experiences, expertise and solutions to help move through and beyond these extraordinary times. We cant wait to welcome you to our first online Parkex, taking place from 15-17 June, this year alongside Traffex. Parkex is Europes largest parking event, where the sector comes together to network, learn and focus on trends and disrupters. Our Parkex Hub allows you to see and hear from many of the leading experts in their field, as well as providing opportunities to discuss the challenges of planning a successful and sustainable future. The three days of tailored sessions will explore the changing face of parking, mobility on the move, and connected travel. As lockdown eases, the need for effective parking management will again come into sharp focus as traffic levels increase and more people flock to beaches and beauty spots to enjoy the sunshine. Its essential that we remain focused and draw on the expertise of our community to address new challenges, including how people move around. Our Association has been awarded further government funding to grow our active travel scheme Park Active, which we pioneered with local authority members and other key stakeholders. This is wonderful recognition of our standing with government and leadership within and beyond our sector. Our level of political engagement remains higher than ever and is focused on those issues that are most pressing for our members. Recently, the UK government issued its response to the public consultation on the Parking Code Enforcement Framework, which sets out measures to improve the regulation of the private parking sector. We welcomed the introduction of the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 and most of the measures it seeks to introduce, including a single code, a single appeals service, and a standard-setting body. However, for this package of measures to be sustainable and meet the aims of government, there also needs to be a sufficient deterrent to enable effective parking management. We are calling for government to reconsider its proposal to reduce the parking charge amount and will continue to work closely with it and other stakeholders to push for a positive outcome for all. At the same time, we continue to engage with government on a range of other priority lobbying initiatives including: Traffic Management Act Part 6 (Moving Traffic Contraventions); use of automatic number plate recognition by councils; pavement and obstructive parking; and local authority penalty charge amounts. We will continue to keep you updated as these key activities progress during 2021. We are looking forward to seeing you (virtually) at Parkex 2021. Thank you so much for your amazing support. Our political engagement is higher than ever and is focused on those issues that are most pressing for our members Andrew Pester Chief executive officer of the British Parking Association andrew.p@britishparking.co.uk cdergroup.co.uk britishparking.co.uk 3 CDER Tall Ad 60x266.indd 1 PN June 2021 pp02-03 Upfront.indd 3 20/07/2020 12:53 21/05/2021 10:46