Mayor Ros Jones quizzed over ANPR concerns at private Doncaster car parks

The Mayor of Doncaster has been quizzed over claims some private car parks in the city are operating ANPR cameras without permission.

In a full council meeting on July 17, resident Derek Brook asked Mayor Ros Jones over whether planning enforcement officers had conducted a “borough-wide assessment” of private car parks, after he submitted “comprehensive evidence” that numerous car parks in the city held no planning permission for automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras and advertising boards.

In response Mayor Jones said planning enforcement “is not intended to carry out broad wide-ranging speculative investigations in the absence of evidence”.

“Whilst the council recognises the concerns raised regarding compliance at private car parks, a borough-wide review of all private car parks would require significant resources and detailed site-by-site investigations, including the examination of individual planning histories, advertisement consents, and site-specific circumstances,” she said.

“Undertaking a blanket review across the entire borough would divert resources from investigating known and evidenced cases and is unlikely to represent an effective or proportionate use of public resources in the wider public interest.”

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Brook refuted the Mayor’s suggestion that there was no evidence of planning breaches.

He said: “The Mayor’s response does not reflect the position. The council has already been provided with evidence of multiple breaches across numerous sites. Once evidence exists, investigations are no longer speculative.”

Mr Brook claimed his email to the council, which contained his evidence of breaches, has been viewed 136 times, according to an email tracker.

The Mayor suggested Mr Brook send his concerns to Councillor Gemma Cobby, a new cabinet appointee responsible for enforcement and regulation.

Mr Brook, a resident of the Rose Hill estate, has received a lot of support on the issue from his local councillors.

This includes Coun Chris Kidger, who also probed the cabinet on the issue in the meeting.

He said in a statement: “Residents expect consistency from the council. If there are concerns about compliance with planning or advertisement regulations, they deserve to know they are being properly investigated.

“The public needs confidence that the planning system is applied fairly, transparently and without delay.”