Drivers ‘will soon be given more time to pay for car parking’ under new rules which could come into play in a matter of days

Britain’s private parking rules are set to be completely overhauled in a bid to stop drivers being hit with unfair charges. 

The new rules, which could be brought in within the next month or two, would grant drivers more time to pay for their parking space. 

The ‘five-minute rule’, which gives the driver only five minutes between arriving at the car park and paying for their space before penalty charges may start to be levied, could be relaxed as soon as the beginning of February, Will Hurley, chief executive of the International Parking Community (IPC), said. 

That could stop cases like that of professional bodybuilder and make-up artist Rosey Hudson, from Derby, who was sued for almost £2,000 after repeatedly taking more than five minutes to pay for parking. 

She claims there was no ticket machine in operation and the reception in the area was poor, so she had to walk a little way before buying her daily ticket via the app.

A new panel is also on the cards with the remit to ensure that private parking companies rigorously follow the self-regulating industry’s code of practice. 

Almost 4million parking tickets were handed out in the third quarter of last year, around £4.1million a day in penalties, research by the PA news agency and the RAC Foundation revealed. 

Rod Dennis, the RAC’s senior policy officer, said: ‘The fact that the private parking industry is already having to review its own code just months after it was introduced, shows it’s not working in drivers’ interests. 

Rosey Hudson, a professional bodybuilder and make-up artist from Derby, was sued for almost £2,000 after repeatedly taking more than five minutes to pay for parking

However she claims there was no ticket machine in operation at Copeland Car Park and the reception in the area was poor, so she had to walk a little way before buying her daily ticket via the app

‘This is yet another reason why the launch of the long-overdue official private parking code of practice, which became law five years ago, is very much needed.

‘We fear that without this, drivers who use private car parks will continue to be worse off.’

The IPC and British Parking Association have created a new panel to amend and adapt the parking code to ‘reflect technological developments,’ Mr Hurley said. 

Those with knowledge of the plan believe it is likely to feature an extension of the ‘five-minute rule,’ although the exact duration is still yet to be decided.

Critics have long accused parking firms of intentionally imposing unfair charges, installing misleading signs and employing hostile strategies to collect their debts. 

Private parking was in the headlights of the previous Conservative administration, who had plans to legislation in that area – but the proposed code of practice stalled after firms united against it.