18 Sep 2024
An unprecedented attack on the district council’s controversial proposals for on-street parking in Harpenden has been submitted to the town council, suggesting a Judicial Review could be on the cards if SADC presses ahead with its plans.
Town clerk and chief executive Carl Cheevers presented officer observations on the scheme to this week’s HTC meeting on Wednesday night.
He stressed that the parking proposals have been put forward by SADC as the responsible authority on this matter and HTC are only a consultee, albeit one which is trying to shape and influence the plans.
He revealed how SADC had not provided any definitive information on the consultation, but officers had pieced together what details they could, and suggested the consultation closed with around 1,200 responses, with the vast majority in opposition to the proposals, citing damage to the High Street economy, a disproportionate impact on the elderly, and the fact that 20 minutes’ free parking is not enough time as the main themes.
The town clerk suggested that HTC agree their current position, highlighting concerns about a “one size fits all approach” by SADC, whether an appropriate consultation process has been carried out given the poor communications put out and timeline inconsistencies, and how earlier engagement with both HTC and the local community at the time of budget setting would have enabled the development of a set of proposals that could make improvements without the potential for significant local damage.
He proposed that an agreed statement could then be submitted to SADC on what the town council would like to see happen next.
Mr Cheevers suggested part of this would say: “HTC will carefully consider any changes proposed by SADC and will consider its view on them at the appropriate time. If no changes are put forward or if minor changes are suggested that do not significantly address the consultation themes, then HTC will consider instructing an initial legal view on the validity of the process that has been carried out. This initial view may lead to HTC initiating more formal legal action.”
The clerk told town councillors: “This issue has had a significant impact on council resources, notably officer time. The volume of correspondence that has had to be responded to and further conversations that have been required with SADC has detracted from some of our planned work in the past two months.
“It is likely that this issue will continue to take up officer time until the point at which SADC finalise their proposals. At this point, depending on the scenario as to what SADC choose to do, HTC may have to allocate funds to deliver the action it wishes to take.”
He warned: “For example, in order to carry out the initial legal view… we would expect to need to allocate up to £20K. Any further action beyond that initial view will require significant funds well in excess of that initial figure.”
Should SADC go ahead with the proposals, given the volume and focus of the consultation, he suggested it would be acting in potential breach of the Road Traffic Act and consultation process guidelines such as the Gunning Principles, which could lead HTC to go as far as to consider a Judicial Review.
Mr Cheevers said: “In this scenario, HTC may wish to instruct professional legal advice to get a view as to whether the decision has been taken through a flawed process. HTC could instruct an initial view which it would need to formally consider.
“If this view suggested that there have been issues with the process, then HTC could consider instigating further action in the form of a Judicial Review. This is a complicated and costly action to take, however it is a route open to HTC.”
The Gunning Principles are a set of four key rules established by the UK courts to ensure fairness in public consultations.
Of particular relevance to this particular process are:
* Consultation must take place when the proposal is still at a formative stage: The decision-makers must not have already made up their minds. Consultation should happen early enough in the decision-making process so that the opinions and feedback received can genuinely influence the outcome.
And:
* The product of consultation must be conscientiously taken into account: The responses received during the consultation must be given genuine consideration before any final decisions are made. Decision-makers must show they have engaged with and reflected on the feedback, even if they do not adopt all suggestions.
Speaking to the St Albans Times back in May, SADC leader Cllr Paul de Kort confirmed that some form of the proposals were definitely going to go ahead – despite opposition – because they had no other choice when it came to balancing their budget.
“We don’t know, and that’s why there’s a consultation, exactly how it’s going to look, it isn’t a consultation on whether we’re going to do it or not because it’s in a budget and the only way the senior officers signed off on our budget was by us saying we’re going to raise some money from this activity.”
