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Parking wardens slap a fine on the mayor’s car earlier this year – but Camden insists they’re only interested in an “efficient” service |
The man who lost an election but became the parking chief... and the letter sent by his staff
Richard Osley looks at the complex tale unfolding in the Town Hall’s least-loved department
JUST a month or so before he was appointed by the Town Hall, Camden’s new parking supremo was hundreds of miles away and in the thick of an election fight.
John Meyer was standing for the Conservatives and striking fear into rival Liberal Democrats in a battle for a seat on Wirral Council.
He went down well in the neighbourhoods where he grew up, joining spirited local campaigns against post office closures, and in the end only lost out by a couple of hundred votes.
But if Mr Meyer has any plans to repeat his political adventure, his new bosses confirmed yesterday that they are firmly on hold.
Camden’s environment director Rachel Stopard said: “Prior to John’s appointment he advised the director’s office that he had resigned all his political positions.”
Mr Meyer, 37,
has slipped almost unnoticed into his new life in Camden, largely passing under the radar to anybody outside the environment department.
He has already been in post as interim parking manager for three months but several councillors admit privately to only having heard his name and job title.
Maybe those members should have made more effort to look at developments in the parking department, where a major overhaul is taking place with little discussion at scrutiny panels or in committee rooms.
And, as the New Journal has learned, it is unfolding against the backdrop of rumbling staff discontent.
Council chiefs have described the parking department as needing to adapt “if it’s going to be fit for purpose” – or, in other words, “it’s not fit for purpose at the moment”.
The top issue on the agenda is a familiarly thorny issue: the size of Camden’s income from parking tickets. Income is down, and the order has been sent out to staff to find out why.
A memo from Ms Stopard’s deputy Robert Scourfield sent a couple of weeks ago said the department was looking for “quick wins” to improve performance.
Senior officers insist they just want to understand the downturn rather than finding more ways to hit drivers. The sliding figures could see as much as £4million lost from the annual budget.
Don’t link it, they insist, to the recent 267 per cent leap in the cost of builders’ parking permits.
The reasonable explanation, in Camden’s eyes, for the dramatic hike is that they are just falling into line with neighbouring Westminster.
But it’s not just puzzling over the lower income and the search for quick wins which is occupying the time of chief officers in the parking department.
They are also under pressure to wrap up an unsettling internal investigation into the conduct of two parking managers, who have been suspended for two months.
The nature of the inquiry is shrouded in mystery, and the lack of resolution has only added to grumbling among staff in Ms Stopard’s division.
It’s certainly a heady time for Mr Meyer to be joining the team – not least because a series of major contracts are coming up for renewal in the next few years, meaning Camden must start deciding now how they want the new deals to be framed.
Mr Meyer had hardly hung up his blue rosette and logged onto his new council computer when his new bosses received a letter from a group of parking staff – albeit sent anonymously – calling for caution over his appointment.
The New Journal has learned the message sent in June pressed for checks on Mr Meyer’s private business interests and history of freelance work.
Camden’s response is that his experience with major players should be welcomed, not shunned.
The staff note mentioned Mr Meyer’s firm HHCT Limited, which is based in the Wirral and repairs hand-held computers used by wardens – or civil enforcement officers as they are now known.
There is no record of HHCT repairing Camden wardens’ hand-held devices, but the letter pointed out the outfit has worked for Mouchel Parkman – a much larger company which does hold a contract at the Town Hall.
There was also mention in the letter of the new top man’s elder brother, Simon Meyer, whose own traffic technology business was acquired by Mouchel two years ago. Simon Meyer stayed on after the sale and still holds a senior role in the company.
It is not beyond the realms of imagination that Mouchel may bid for further work with the council in the near future, but the Town Hall insists they have gained no extra advantage.
Ms Stopard said: “John was completely open in his interviews about his previous experience and relationships with commercial parking networks. Parking can be a small world and it’s inevitable people will have built up relationships within it during their professional lives.”
She pointed out that “Mouchel is a major PLC with a turnover of £308 million,” with Simon Meyer only working in a small section of the company.
“John was very open to us about this link, we were made fully aware that his brother now works in a small subset of this company and there are no implications whatsoever for Camden in this link,” she said.
There is no evidence or suggestion that either John or Simon Meyer or their companies have inappropriately benefited financially from John Meyer’s work with Camden Council.
The council has instead been told that HHCT Limited will be “dormant” while Mr Meyer is working for Camden, although it is accepted it will still promote its services for future work during this time.
Last week the company’s website was advertising for a “Man/Woman Friday” to split working hours between Camden and Merseyside.
Ultimately, it is the cause of annoyance to council chiefs that they are even having to defend Mr Meyer’s appointment to their own staff at a time when they are trying to avoid the pitfalls of the past.
Mr Meyer’s predecessor, Rudy Bright, became the victim of an internet parody in which his photograph was flashed up on a mocking YouTube video created by parking campaigners.
The council said yesterday that it wanted to get away from having one single “Mr Parking”, who took all the major decisions and suffered personal flak when the department was under fire.
Instead, a parking board will share the load and meet every week to identify potential problems.
Some of her own employees might not believe it, but Ms Stopard said: “No one officer could be in a position where they could unduly influence decisions.”
She said that she had expected staff to be “resistant” to change but added: “The good news is that we’re issuing fewer tickets. We are genuinely pleased about this.
“Yes, the consequence is a fall in income, but the changes are not about boosting revenue. It’s about running an efficient and customer-focused service.”
Whether the motorists who complain that Camden is one of the worst places for being hit with unfair tickets agree is another matter. |
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