Central Bedfordshire Council is responsible for civil enforcement of parking restrictions under the powers of the Traffic Management Act, 2004.

This means that our Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs) may issue Penalty Charge Notices to vehicle owners who are parked in contravention, for example, in roads with restrictions such as single or double yellow lines, or to vehicle owners who are parked in residents bays without displaying a valid parking permit.

Charges

Central Bedfordshire has many sites which we own and manage, sometimes in partnership with the Greensand Trust. These sites are open to the public.

Please contact 0300 300 8305 if you have any issues relating to Countryside car parks mentioned below

The main countryside sites in Central Bedfordshire also have car parks.

• The location of these and responsible organisation are as follows:
• Aspley Woods - The Greensand Trust - Gill Welham
• Dunstable Downs - The National Trust - Ellen Dempster 
• Stockgrove Country Park - The Greensand Trust - Gill Welham
• Sundon Hills Country Park - The National Trust - Ellen Dempster
• Totternhoe Knolls - The National Trust - Ellen Dempster
• Whipsnade Heath - The National Trust - Ellen Dempster
• Tiddenfoot Waterside Park - Central Bedfordshire Council - Paul Burgess,

If the car park is not listed above, it may be the responsibility of the Town or Parish Council or privately owned.

The Traffic Management Act 2004 calls this Civil Parking Enforcement, making the change from Decriminalised Parking Enforcement and expands the range of contraventions that can be managed in this way. Legally speaking, Parking Attendants will be known as Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs).

 The parking enforcement service is provided by Central Bedfordshire Council. Civil Enforcement Officers patrol in uniform and have been trained to a high standard. The Officers are equipped with mobile computers to record contraventions and to issue Penalty Charge Notices (PCN)  to vehicles parked in breach of the parking regulations. They also have still cameras to assist in verifying that a PCN was correctly issued. They also record the information in their pocket book which may be produced as evidence. The Civil Enforcement Officers do not have targets and do not receive bonuses based on the number of PCNs issued.

Civil enforcement officers are required to issue a ticket when they observe a contravention. Once they have started issuing a ticket they are not permitted to stop or abandon the issue. If you believe a ticket has been issued incorrectly or there are special circumstances, please refer to our appealing against a Penalty Charge Notices. Neither the contractor nor individual officers are rewarded by the number of tickets issued.

The scheme is intended to influence the amount of traffic in the town to ease congestion, improve access for emergency vehicles, help the free flow of public transport and manage where you park. The Council believes that effective parking enforcement benefits road users.

More information about the appeal process can be  found on the PATROL website.

Guidance on wheel clamping is covered in the Traffic Management Act 2004. Councils in England and Wales are discouraged from using clamping simply as a means of enforcing parking regulations. However, councils are permitted to clamp in the following circumstances:

Central Bedfordshire Council uses a bailiff company to recover any unpaid Penalty Charge Notices.