Year in review We have never experienced anything like it This year, life as we knew it got turned around, shaken up, and thrown asunder. It has been tough, exhausting, upsetting. It has also been transformational, in terms of where, how and with whom we work. Louise Parfitt hears about the challenges and opportunities 2020 has brought organisations and individuals across the sector and beyond Darren Bell Ken Prior Enforcement will always be a contentious matter for some, but the debt being recovered for local authorities is helping to fund vital public services. It became clear during the Covid-19 pandemic that any unnecessary curtailment of activity post-lockdown would create a backlog. At Bristow & Sutor, we fostered the idea that operations should continue using the same sensitivity that all recovery cases should always be handled with. Thanks to ongoing investment in technology, we remained operational with minimal disruption to customer service during lockdown. As restrictions eased and people began flocking to beaches and other public destinations, the need to re-educate the public on parking rules became prevalent. Ignoring parking restrictions without repercussion can only happen for so long before it becomes the socially accepted normality. Since visits resumed, we are meeting more people our contact rates have increased by 15 per cent. Despite not entering premises, we are collecting on more calls than before, with an increase of payment results by 24 per cent. The key to resolving outstanding parking debt is, and always has been, good communication. With care and consideration this is still being achieved and will continue to do so in 2021 and beyond. During the first lockdown, we were all in virtual meetings to make sure that towns and cities were able to lock down properly to keep people safe, and then, towards the end of the first lockdown, to open up safely. That side of it was really positive because we got decisions made quickly in order for us to be able to do the things that we needed to do. My team was incredible. During March, April and May, they went out and painted all of our multi-storey car parks we painted acres and acres of white! I think everybody was fed up with white in the end, but it smartened up our car parks no end. The team did a fantastic job. I have missed the face-to-face contact of the big parking community meetings, but the BPA forum has been brilliant, I have really enjoyed it. Ive loved being able to reach a wider audience, and have joined in more. I think we need to welcome more people into that to get buy-in from those councils who arent yet members. Perhaps we should give them some access to make them feel like they want to learn more and be part of it, and then come into membership. Solutions manager road traffic, Bristow & Sutor Parking manager, Chester and Chester West John Mason Director road traffic and road user charging, CDER Group As we entered 2020, few of us could have foreseen the year 18 britishparking.co.uk PN Dec 2020 pp18-23 Review V3.indd 18 23/11/2020 16:06