Parking Act 1989

2 Offences and proceedings in connection with parking places provided by local authorities. E+W+S

The following section shall be inserted after section 35—

“35A Offences and proceedings in connection with parking places provided under s.32 or 33.

(1) In the event of any contravention of, or non-compliance with, a provision of an order under section 35(1) above, the person responsible shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) A person who, with intent to defraud—

(a) interferes with any such apparatus or device mentioned in section 35(3) above as is by an order under section 35(1) above to be used for the collection of charges at an off-street parking place, or operates or attempts to operate it by the insertion of objects other than current coins or bank notes of the appropriate denomination, or the appropriate credit or debit cards, or

(b) interferes with any such apparatus as is mentioned in section 35(3A)(d) above or with a parking device, or operates or attempts to operate any such apparatus or any parking device otherwise than in the manner prescribed, or

(c) displays a parking device otherwise than in the manner prescribed,

shall be guilty of an offence.

(3) An order under section 35(1) above may include provision—

(a) for determining the person responsible for any contravention of or non-compliance with the order;

(b) for treating—

(i) the indications given by any such apparatus or device as is mentioned in section 35(3) above used in pursuance of the order, or

(ii) the indications given by any such apparatus as is mentioned in section 35(3A)(d) above used in pursuance of the order, or any tickets issued by it, or the absence of any such ticket from a vehicle left in a parking place,

as evidence (and, in Scotland, as sufficient evidence) of such facts and for such purposes as may be provided by the order;

(c) for applying with any appropriate adaptations any of the provisions of subsections (4) to (6) of section 47 of this Act.

(4) The reference in subsection (5) of section 47 of this Act to apparatus provided for the purposes of a parking place and operated by the insertion of coins or bank notes or by means of credit or debit cards shall, where that subsection is applied by virtue of subsection (3)(c) above, include references to—

(a) any such apparatus as is referred to in section 35(3A)(d) above, and

(b) any such device as is referred to in section 35(3B) above;

and the said subsection (5) of section 47 of this Act (as modified by this subsection) shall apply to an offence under subsection (2)(b) or (c) above as it applies to an offence under that section.

(5) While a vehicle is within a parking place, it shall not be lawful for the driver or conductor of the vehicle, or for any person employed in connection with it, to ply for hire or accept passengers for hire; and if a person acts in contravention of this subsection he shall be guilty of an offence.

(6) In this section—

• “credit card” means a card or similar thing issued by any person, use of which enables the holder to defer the payment by him of the charge for parking a vehicle; and

• “debit card” means a card or similar thing issued by any person, use of which by the holder causes the charge for parking a vehicle to be paid by the electronic transfer of funds from any current account of his at a bank or other institution providing banking services.”