Council accepts Court ruling: CPZ charges revert to pre-increase levels

The Leader of Barnet Council, Richard Cornelius, confirmed today that the Council will not appeal against last week's High Court ruling which found the Council's 2011 CPZ price increases to be unlawful.  He also apologised for the fact that the CPZ increases were implemented without going through the proper process. You can read the council's statement here: http://www.barnet.gov.uk/news/article/345/statement_on_cpz_legal_challenge

This is great news for everyone who has supported our campaign and puts an end to the legal uncertainty following last week's High Court victory.  It means that:

• Barnet's CPZ charges will revert back to their pre-increase levels (£40 for a permit and £1 for a visitor voucher)
• Residents will be able to claim refunds of the amount that they have been overcharged for permits and visitor vouchers. Details of how to do this are set out in the council's  statement: http://www.barnet.gov.uk/news/article/345/statement_on_cpz_legal_challenge
• Realistically, before long, the Council will want to introduce new price increases since the charges have now reverted back to what they were in 2006.  But we trust the council to take heed of the High Court judgment and that residents will not face the prospect of a £4 charge for a visit that may last only 30 minutes. 
• The Council will pay David Attfield's legal costs, enabling donated money to be returned at least in part. This will take time, so please bear with us. 

Our fight has drawn to a successful conclusion.  In large part this is due to the support and encouragement of the hundreds of people who have backed our campaign.  Indeed, without the financial backing we received, it simply would not have been possible to pursue a legal action against the Council.  Thank you to everyone who has helped bring this about.

Whilst we are celebrating our success, we are also mindful that the Council has a large logistical exercise to undertake and that there will be financial consequences for the Council.  We would  encourage people to be patient in their applying for refunds - we are sure the Council will be doing all they can to deal with these efficiently.  We also sincerely hope that the Council's contingency planning means that it can deal with this set back without an impact on services.  But the truth is that the Council is the author of its misfortune and had opportunities along the way to resolve this issue at considerably less inconvenience and cost to it.