[library shot]
Doesn’t take much to confuse me these days. I have just come across a job description I haven’t encountered before. A civil enforcement officer.
Is that the same as a good old traffic warden, l wondered? Seems it is!
Now that is clear, I have to say I agree with our Green Party councillors that there is a lack of them hereabouts. Living in the Larkhall area, I don’t think I have been more than one in the thirteen years I have been here.
According to a press release the three ‘greens’ on Bath and North East Somerset Council are calling on the administration to take urgent action to address the chronic lack of Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs) in the city, particularly in the east of Bath, where Residents’ Parking Zones (RPZs) are routinely undermined by insufficient enforcement.
Here’s the rest of that press release:
“At a recent public meeting in Larkhall, the message from residents was clear: without enough officers on the ground, RPZs are little more than lines on a map.
Areas such as Lambridge and Fairfield Park are frequently left without coverage, while central Bath continues to receive regular patrols. The result is blocked bus routes, unsafe streets, and residents unable to park near their homes.
“B&NES says it’s committed to cleaner, safer neighbourhoods and to making sustainable transport work,” commented Green Councillor Saskia Heijltjes, “But when there’s no one to enforce the rules, it’s all just talk.”
The Green Group is calling attention to the council’s low pay for CEO’s — currently advertised between £13.26 and £13.47 per hour, a wage that does not reflect the demands or importance of the role.
“This is a physically demanding job that often involves confrontation and working in all weather,” the spokesperson continued. “If the council is benefitting from high parking revenue, it should reinvest in the very workers who make that possible”, added Green Group Leader Councillor Joanna Wright.
Local businesses are also feeling the impact. In areas where short-stay bays are abused, customers can’t park, and traders lose vital footfall.
The Green Group is urging the council to:
- Increase pay rates for CEOs to ensure recruitment and retention
- Provide consistent enforcement across all RPZs, not just the city centre
Invest parking revenues back into frontline enforcement staff
Honour commitments to sustainable travel by ensuring bus routes are protected
Cllr Wright concludes, “Residents are tired of empty promises. If we’re serious about RPZs, protecting public transport, and supporting local shops, then we must put officers on the streets and pay them fairly. Otherwise, we’re not managing a system — we’re just managing its decline.”Doesn’t take much to confuse me these days.”
I have to say l would like to see a few parking tickets for those abusing double-yellow lines and a few notices on those who park on the corners of T junctions where you can’t see what is coming because your view is blocked!
