Wetherell Mayfairs Fitnes Properties

Le Gavroche in Upper Brook Street is named after a street urchin in Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables. The restaurant, which opened 45 years ago in 1967, was the first in the UK to be awarded three Michelin stars in 1982. Chefs Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing have all worked in there.

A Mayfair estate agent hailed for leading the successful campaign against West End parking charges today spoke of his David and Goliath battle against the "tax on nightlife".

Peter Wetherell was the only objector to put his name to the High Court legal challenge to Westminster council's plan to make drivers pay to park in the evenings and on Sundays.

Today he called on campaigners not to give up - and warned Westminster that he would be back to fight if the council tries to introduce the fees next year. It comes after Westminster leader Colin Barrow announced that the charges would now be delayed until after next summer's Olympics, following a High Court judge's decision to allow a judicial review of the plan.

Today a quietly triumphant Mr Wetherell told the Standard: "We must not relax our vigil. There is still a risk that the present will be taken away again next year if Westminster council have their way. Let us all try to exert a moral authority against the council and tell them that the residents, businesses, workers and visitors do not want this for Mayfair.

"All I will say to Westminster City Council is listen to the Mayfair community, or else... I'll be back."

The 58-year-old, who is married with three children, began a petition in October against the plan to introduce the charges of up to £4.80 in the evenings and on Sundays from January 9. The move would have meant removing almost 2,000 free spaces from the West End. By November 1, his judicial review application was lodged at the High Court, backed financially by restaurateur Richard Caring, demonstrating that the campaigners meant business. Dozens of staff at Mr Caring's restaurants and clubs celebrated the court ruling last night.

One said: "It is great to have a boss who puts his money where his mouth is and is prepared to fight for our right to come to work - and not be taxed for it."

Mr Wetherell, who has worked in Mayfair for 40 years, was also supported by politicians and business leaders ranging from Boris Johnson to Peter Stringfellow. They believed Westminster would use the new charges to raise revenue and plug a "black hole" in the parking budget. Mr Wetherell said: "It appears that rather than find a solution to an identified problem, they decided on a policy and then sought to find the justification - and settled on 'traffic stress', which local residents tell me simply doesn't exist.

"I have never seen stakeholders so united against anything. Sadly, I have also never seen Westminster so intransigent either. But the long struggle against the charges was not easy. As soon as I was named on the judicial review application I became a target. It was made plain to me by the council that I would suffer the consequences of continuing in opposition.

"The council were demanding 'cross undertakings in damages', which means that I would have been liable for losses of income if the scheme is delayed. Had they succeeded in doing this, I could have ended up bankrupt. I have three young children."

A judge ruled on Wednesday that the council had a case to answer and ordered the postponement of the new charges until after a full hearing.

Your say: 'So many reasons it was a bad idea'

Mary Kate Murphy, 24 Hotel manager:
"It's fantastic the council has decided to put it off."

Adil Moollan, 28, Obstetrician from Swiss Cottage: "You couldn't even list the reasons why this would have been a bad idea on a piece of paper - there are so many."

Louise Kenny Surgeon from Acton: "They are right to scrap the charges. It's not safe to make female workers take the night bus home from work."

Luigi Polledri Owner of Bar Italia and Little Italy in Frith Street: "It's a sensible decision in the current economic climate."

By Mira Bar-Hillel and Jonathan Prynn
The Evening Standard - 16th December 2011
Click to see original article

Westminster Council spent £400,000 preparing to charge drivers for weekend parking before consultations were complete, BBC London has learned.

The authority has faced protests over plans to charge for West End parking during weekends and evenings.

It has now emerged the six-figure sum was spent on signage despite residents' opinions still being sought.

Labour said residents had been treated with "contempt", but the Conservatives said the costs would be recouped.

Critics say the outlay on signage shows the consultation was meaningless in the first place and the council had already made up its mind to bring in the new charges.
'Total contempt'

It comes after a High Court judge allowed a Judicial Review into the scheme, saying it was possible the council's consultation period had been too limited.

The leader of Labour in Westminster, Paul Dimoldenberg, said: "Westminster's consultation has been shambolic and no wonder the High Court was so scathing of the council's efforts.

"The council has treated residents and businesses with total contempt with £300,000 having being spent on new parking signs even before the consultation period was over."
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

Ordering the signs before the consultation had ended shows blatant contempt for the process”

Paul Pearson Parking campaigner

In his ruling, Mr Justice Collins wrote: "The consultation [carried out by Westminster Council] was arguably far too limited.

"There is a real risk of substantial damage to businesses and churches if it goes ahead."

The council first consulted the public and businesses last winter, and then in again early summer.

The BBC has obtained a series of emails showing that, following those two consultations, it placed an order for nearly £300,000-worth of signage and legal documents to enforce the new policy.

Another £100,000 was spent on other associated start-up costs.

But other consultations with residents were still continuing.

A letter sent to interested parties on 14 November reads: "The purpose of this letter is to provide you with information about a number of traffic regulation orders which the council intends to make to provide you with an opportunity to give us your comments, and to explain what further consultation will take place."

The letter concludes that the council would be "happy to receive any representation in writing by 2 December".

By this time the new signs had already been ordered.
'Other people's money'

Paul Pearson, who has been campaigning against the fees, pointed out that if the council loses its High Court case the money will have been wasted.

He said: "They should have waited - they risked other people's money when all they had to do was wait a while longer.

"Ordering the signs before the consultation had ended shows blatant contempt for the consultation process - they clearly had no intention of listening to what people had to say and this is wrong."
Pay and display machine The charges would operate until midnight Monday to Saturday, and 13:00 to 18:00 on Sundays

The leader of Westminster Council, Councillor Colin Barrow, said: "The judge rejected 10 of the 12 grounds for Judicial Review submitted by the applicants, but it does also require us to postpone implementation of the scheme, pending the full hearing.

"We are confident that we will be successful at such a hearing on the strengths of our arguments, the comprehensive consultation and the need to make central London less congested."

He continued: "Westminster Council has spent a total of around £400,000 on the changes to hours of parking controls in the West End.

"Should the scheme be implemented later in 2012, we anticipate recovering all but £25,000 of these costs."

The levy, from £2.20 to £4.40 an hour, would operate until midnight Monday to Saturday, and from 13:00 to 18:00 on Sundays.

Following the High Court ruling the scheme has been delayed from its intended start date of 9 January until after the Olympics.

By Ed Davey
BBC News, London - 15th December 2011
Click to see orignial article & video

Leaders of the campaign against the charges were delighted with the postponement - but said the champagne will stay on ice until the plan was abandoned for good.

Nightclub owner Peter Stringfellow, who was to stand as an independent Conservative on the issue in the next council elections, said: "This is excellent news for the business community and, more importantly, the people who visit the West End. But I am not celebrating just yet.

"We will keep the pressure on the council to understand this should not be a temporary measure but an absolute answer. Cancel it now.

"I think the Evening Standard has done a fantastic job in highlighting the catastrophic impact this would have on the people who live and work in the West End."

Two-Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux Jr of Mayfair's Le Gavroche, said: "I'm very happy but we can't open the champagne just yet. The council has to realise it was wrong. It must not waste any more money and time fighting this in court."

Simon Thomas, owner of the Hippodrome Casino, said: "Uncertainty is an expensive commodity. The plans have to be abandoned completely and not simply delayed while the council use our money to fight this in the courts."

Major Ray Brown of The Salvation Army, whose church and community work is based on Oxford Street, said: "Until these plans are dropped completely the long-term future of our community work and church is still under threat."

Campaigner Paul Pearson, who runs the PenaltyChargeNotice website, said: "Councillors Barrow and Rowley, who arrogantly tried to push this through at all costs, must now resign. They knew that this judicial review was ongoing and yet they gave the order for £297,000 of new signs and took on new staff to work in the evenings. Mr Barrow should pay back the council-tax payers from his own pocket."

Labour's mayoral candidate Ken Livingstone said: "They were doing something that was going to badly damage the London economy. I'm just amazed the council dug in so much. Why go through a judicial review now? They should just back off and admit they are not going ahead with it."

Baroness Valentine, Chief Executive of business group London First, said: "This is great news for the West End.Let's hope these proposals are now dropped completely."

Campaigners welcome delay but say: Now abandon fees for good

By Jonathan Prynn & Peter Dominizak
The Evening Standard - Thursday 15th December 2011
Click to see original article

Evening and weekend parking charges will cost the West End £800 million a year and threaten more than 5,100 jobs, a devastating study warns today.

It suggests nine per cent of the £9.2 billion night-time and Sunday economy could disappear as customers and workers are put off by the so-called "night-life tax".

The figure of £800 million compares with the £7 million Westminster council hopes to raise annually by scrapping free parking and bringing in fees of up to £4.80 an hour from January 9.

The study from the respected independent City forecaster the Centre for Economics and Business Research piles more pressure on the council led by Colin Barrow.

It found the biggest losses of turnover will be felt by restaurants, bars, pubs and cafés (£330 million) followed by theatres, cinemas, casinos and other places of entertainment (£314 million) and retailers (£145 million).

As a result "in excess of 5,100 jobs could be under threat as a result of the parking charges," the report says, although the figure could be far higher.

Report author Oliver Hogan said: "If you dim the lights of the West End economically you may well dim the attractions of one of the world's top tourist destinations."

He said the charges will "turn off a vital revenue stream for the UK during increasingly hard times for the business community," adding: "It was only once the economic modelling and calculations had been completed that we realised the true extent of the potential damage to the London economy."

The findings were dismissed by Westminster's cabinet member for parking Lee Rowley as "completely flawed guesswork".

The £10,000 study was commissioned by a group of businesses worried about the impact of the charges.

Tory-run Westminster council did not carry out its own economic impact research before it rubber stamped the new restrictions on 1 August.

When asked by the Standard if the council had carried out such a study, its operational director Barry Smith said it would have been too difficult to isolate the impact of the charges. "The West End is a complicated place," he said.

But business leaders and politicians said the CEBR report was the proof that confirmed their worst fears.

Simon Thomas, leader of a campaign against the charges and owner of Leicester Square's Hippodrome Casino, said: "The Mayor of London was quite right to be wary of these proposals. Boris Johnson shares with us the worry that the West End will suffer intolerable damage if this goes ahead.

"If doors start closing in the West End through lack of customers unable to park free at night then there will be less to attract people into the centre, then more places will close - it's a downward spiral. If you make it £25 more expensive to have a night out in one place, customers might choose somewhere else to go."

Labour MP Karen Buck said: "The evidence is piling up that these plans will have a counter productive and potentially dangerous impact on a vital part of London's economy. Most worrying of all is the impact on jobs." The report says the charges would make alternative shopping areas such as Westfield more attractive.

But Mr Rowley said: "This research is completely flawed. The report admits within the first four pages that the figures are just plucked from thin air using the term 'rough and ready'.

"And in the conclusion it says the findings are based only on 'indicative analysis and assumption'. We will be putting together far more detailed research and conclusions on the impacts the parking controls have - in short, they can do the guesswork, we will do the real work."

Questions and Answers

What is the significance of today's business research report?

It is the first detailed economic assessment of the likely impact of the charges if they go ahead. Westminster council did not commission its own report.

Who are the Centre for Economics and Business Research?

A major City forecasting firm headed by Doug McWilliams, former chief economic adviser to the Confederation of British Industry and chief economist at IBM.

How did they come up with the £800 million figure?

They applied well-established economic principles known as "the income effect" - how much less money people will have to spend after paying the charges - and "the substitution effect" - how much money is likely to be diverted to other centres such as Westfield - to the industries that make up the West End economy.

Does the study prove that the car parking charges will be a disaster?

No, the author Oliver Hogan makes it quite clear that the findings are "indicative" rather than definitive. Short of a crystal ball it is impossible to know exactly what will happen. However the report is based on official figures using standard analytical tools. Mr Hogan believes the margin for error is about 10 per cent on either side.

By Jonathan Prynn
The Evening Standard - Wednesday 7th December 2011
Click to see the original article