national News parking Bill progrEss The Parking (Code of Practice) Bill had its third reading last month and Sir Greg Knights amendments were supported by government and approved by Parliament. The bill now gives the legislative framework for a single standard-setting body, single code of practice and a single independent appeals service, aligning with the BPAs calls, and representing good news for members and motorists alike. Parliament rejected other amendments designed to expedite the creation of the new code in favour of allowing the government to consult properly. Once the bill becomes law, a suitable consultation period is imperative to ensure the code delivers the necessary consistency and consumer condence in the management of parking on private land. It now moves on to the House of Lords, in its journey towards Royal Assent, expected at Easter, when the work of developing the nal code starts. Local Government Minister Rishi Sunak was joined by fellow MPs in praising the BPAs constructive support and leadership in the development of this bill. While options to develop a joint industry code outside of the legislative process have been mooted, the BPA recognised that doing this in parallel would add unnecessary costs to business, diluting the sectors input to the bill and any future code, and potentially causing confusion. Members can share their thoughts or concerns by emailing consultations@britishparking.co.uk Bpa excited to collaborate on tro discovery project The BPA is partnering with the Department for Transport (DfT) and Geoplace to investigate options for modernising Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs). The TRO Discovery Project has been established in response to the DfT-commissioned North Highland Consultancys Report on local authority transport data, which called for further work to modernise and digitise TROs. The project also contributes to the new UK Industrial Strategy Grand Challenge to make the UK a world leader in transport innovation. TROs are used to implement changes on the road network, including changes to road signs and speed limits, allowing temporary closures for street parties and roadworks, and experimental changes. The project will engage with experts, local authorities and organisations that require TROs to develop a thorough understanding of TROs and their associated data. This will help identify how to deliver the most from the current system and how to support the transport network of the future. Julian OKelly, the BPAs head of technology, innovation and research, is the programme manager for the project. He said: The BPA is delighted to co-ordinate this collaboration. We will be working with our partners to engage with the wide range of organisations who initiate and use TROs, where we will be keen to learn from best practice examples. We will aim to address many of the challenges and inconsistencies found across the country in the ways in which TROs are presented and managed, through the development of standards and guidelines in this key area for the world of parking, mobility, connected and automated vehicles. The discovery phase of the work started in November 2018 and runs until March 2019, with a report due in April 2019. Look out for further coverage of the project in the February issue of Parking News. Budget 2018 promises funds for parking innovation Philip Hammonds Autumn Budget 2018, announced on 29 October, included some key measures that affect the parking profession. These include: Extending the Transforming Cities Fund to 2022-23, giving an extra 240m to the six metro mayors. 440m will be made available as competitive funding for 10 city regions. The Transforming Cities Fund will receive 90m from the National Productivity Investment Fund to create Future Mobility Zones to trial transport innovations, with 20m of this for the West Midlands. 1.6bn has been allocated to strengthen the UKs global leadership in science and innovation. As part of this investment into research and development, the government will increase the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund by 1.1bn, including up to 78m to support innovation in electric motor technology. 675 million will be allocated for a new Future High Streets Fund, which forms part of the governments Our Plan for the High Street. Kelvin Reynolds, the BPAs director of corporate and public affairs, said: We welcome the extra support for high streets and look forward to working with the government in the High Street Forum to ensure that parking services are making their full contribution to the prosperity of our town and city centres. You can read the full budget at gov.uk/government/topical-events/ budget-2018 8 Britishparking.co.uk PNDec18 pp08-10 News.indd 8 26/11/2018 16:10 m178