And for anyone who wants to know the law (unlike Cllr Lambert it seems), here is what the judgement in the Barbet case said:
Decision
The Court held that the increase in charges for residents' parking permits and visitor vouchers in Controlled Parking Zones ("CPZ") in the Borough was unlawful because its purpose was to generate a surplus, beyond the monies needed to operate the parking scheme, to fund other transport expenditure, such as road repair and concessionary fares. The Defendant was not entitled to exercise its powers under section 45 for the purpose of raising a surplus to use for any transport functions, provided that they come within the scope of section 122 RTRA 1984. The RTRA 1984 is not a fiscal measure and does not authorise the authority to use its powers to charge local residents for parking in order to raise surplus revenue for other transport purposes funded by the General Fund. |