Claims have been made that the use of the ANPR cameras, to enforce traffic restrictions on Lendal Bridge and Coppergate, has been suspended.
The Council would have had little choice but to do this as, if having received independent advice that their use was unlawful, the Council could have faced maladministration claims from any drivers who received PCNs.
The Council have refused to say whether PCNs have been issued over the last 2 days using ANPR evidence.
The Council have, however, said that the traffic order has not been revoked and the signage is still visible. That means that a uniformed police officer could, in theory, try to enforce the restrictions.
The traffic adjudicator yesterday also highlighted other flaws in the Councils management of the restrictions, so any PCN would be likely to be rescinded on appeal.
The Council Leader has now belatedly decided to blame Council officials for the fiasco.
He has asked the Chief Executive to undertake an internal review the matter, describing the Councils actions as “not to a standard that I would expect”.
Given that the Chief Executive and Council Leader work hand in hand on a daily basis this particular piece of political camouflage is unlikely to fool anyone.
It is reminiscent of the comments made in Labour party Emails earlier in the year when they sought to distance themselves from the unpopular plans
An all party scrutiny committee should – meeting in public – undertake a proper review of what went wrong on a project that has seen the City being ridiculed across the whole country.
In the meantime the Lendal bridge trial should be suspended. The cameras in Coppergate should be switched off at least until they can be proven to be lawful. Enforcement of restrictions there should once again rest with the police.
Meanwhile the Lib Dem Leader says that the Council has “lost control of events”