Civil parking enforcement (CPE) refers to the process by which local authorities enforce parking regulations on public roads.
Why is CPE important?
Improves safety and accessibility: CPE ensures that parking restrictions are enforced, preventing dangerous or obstructive parking. This helps maintain safe conditions and supports parking for residents, businesses and visitors.
Supports transport objectives: CPE aligns with broader transport strategies. By managing parking effectively, authorities can improve traffic flow, reduce congestion and enhance overall transportation efficiency.
Local consistency: While allowing flexibility for local circumstances, CPE aims for national consistency in parking enforcement. It strikes a balance between being fair to motorists and effectively enforcing regulations.
CPE isn't just about revenue - it's about creating safer, more accessible streets for everyone.
“We moved from an ‘agency agreement’ model with nine district and borough councils to a single countywide parking enforcement contract with Marston. They initially carried out a very effective mobilisation and have developed an excellent CEO recruitment system, essential to deliver the service. Given the scale of the contract and delivery changes there were many challenges in the first twelve months, however Marston have shown a real commitment to provide an efficient and effective service for the Council.”
David Curl, Head of Service, Surrey County Council
How can we help you?
NSL is the UK's most trusted provider for outsourced parking enforcement and street management services and solutions. We work with over 60 local authorities managing their civil parking enforcement contracts, as well as provide resilience services to help local authorities through particularly busy periods.
With our highly trained frontline colleagues, parking professionals, comprehensive back-office and customer support services, along with access
to the latest technologies, we can shape your entire parking environment to balance the needs of all users and maximise compliance.
NSL's proven expertise and extensive resource capability provide economies of scale to help clients meet their financial challenges. We provide exceptional support to clients through the faultless delivery of the highest quality services with zero reputational risk.
“We have looked long and hard at how best to meet the demand for parking enforcement in the borough and are confident this new partnership with NSL Ltd will lead to a more responsive service. Residents and visitors want to know that they can park safely and reasonably in the borough and by delivering parking services differently we will be able to continue to make that happen. As with many other service areas we have sought the model best allowing us to provide residents with an excellent service and good value for money.”
Cllr Carwyn Cox, Cabinet Member for Environmental Services, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead
Our services include:
On-street parking enforcement through the issue of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) by deployed civil enforcement officers (CEOs) or parking attendants.
CCTV and ANPR monitoring (public safety surveillance and road safety) and enforcement (moving traffic offences)
Car park management and enforcement including the issue of PCNs and Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) depending on specific client parking regulations such as RTA1984, RTA 1991, TMA 2004, The Clean Neighbourhoods & Environment Act 2005.
Cash collection, counting and banking services for pay and display machines.
Procurement, installation and maintenance (1st and 2nd line) of parking equipment.
Vehicle removal and relocation services (Marston Holdings is the DVLA's contractor for the identification and removal of untaxed vehicles across the UK).
Suspension of parking bays and identification of unauthorised suspensions.
Award-winning blue badge enforcement.
Removal of abandoned/nuisance vehicles.
Full notice processing services from administration, letter printing and mailing, call centre services and payments through to challenges, representations and appeals, out of time witness statements and debt registration.
Permit management using Apply, our bespoke permit system.
Procurement, installation and maintenance of signs and lines.
Environmental and anti-social behaviour enforcement using body-worn technology and issuing FPNs.
Taxi licensing - our services include operator licensing, DVLA checks, vehicle safety checks, driver authentication, meter tests, replacement badges and plates. We also provide online vehicle inspection booking systems and a streamlined back-office permit centre to issue licenses.
Resilience service for civil parking enforcement and all aspects of back-office processing, supporting inhouse teams who experience an increase in requirements.
“Your team have been vital in improving the safety and reliability of our services.”
Stagecoach
1,400 vehicles deployed
We manage 870,000 items of correspondence a year
2,200+ Civil Enforcement Officers, Parking and Traffic Attendants across the UK
Processed 170,000+ permits
Work with 65+ local authorities across the UK
Over 3.5million penalty charge notices issued in 2023/24
120,000 vehicles clamped
45,000+ vehicles removed
We respond to 1.4million telephone enquiries per year
We review over 1million CCTV clip reviews a year
Our Civil Enforcement Officers ( CEOs )
CEOs play a crucial role in maintaining traffic flow, safety and adherence to parking laws. Our Officers' responsibilities include:
Improving safety and accessibility: CPE ensures that parking restrictions are enforced, preventing dangerous or obstructive parking. This helps maintain safe conditions and supports parking for residents, businesses and visitors.
Patrolling streets, ensuring compliance with parking regulations.
Advising the public about local parking rules and facilities.
Issuing Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs): CEOs
record details and take pictures of incorrectly parked vehicles, issuing PCNs as necessary. Reporting issues with parking machines and damage to road signs.
Our recruitment process supports our national presence and provides flexibility for accessing resources across the UK, such as for events. We prioritise local recruitment, benefiting from areaspecific knowledge and contributing to the local economy.
Our CEO training and development opportunities are reinforced by Marston's Investors in People accreditation, ensuring that all colleagues are supported during their employment with us.
“By having these new ambassadors in place, visitors will be able to get help and advice about the events, activities and retailers on offer much more easily. They will also make sure that any anti-social behaviour is dealt with as soon as possible – making the shopping and leisure experience even more enjoyable for all.”
Cllr Paul Bidwell, Executive Member for Economy and Regeneration, Bracknell Forest Council
Working in our local communities
Our highly trained frontline teams are proud to operate within the regions they serve. We offer more than just parking enforcement by adding value to local communities and actively embracing social value projects.
“As part of National Blue Badge Day of Action, Lewisham Council’s anti-fraud team collaborated with our CEOs to address blue badge misuse. They identified a hotspot area in the borough and found 65 vehicles displaying blue badges. Our CEOs verified proper usage, resulting in nine penalty notices (£1,170) and 20 warning letters issued to badge holders.”
“Muhammad, a CEO for two years, exemplifies the role beyond parking tickets. Recently, he aided a lost elderly lady in Manchester. Offering directions from his phone wasn’t enough; he arranged and paid for a taxi to ensure she made her eye appointment on time.”
“Our colleagues, in collaboration with Bracknell Forest Council, patrol Bracknell town centre as Ambassadors. They offer a friendly presence, assist visitors, monitor behaviour, and work closely with police and The Lexicon management to enhance safety and visitor experience.”
“When a couple in Guildford took their disabled daughter out for her first outing since her brain tumour operation, our dedicated CEO, Darwood, stepped in to help, finding a wheelchair, offering assistance, and providing a dashboard note, granting them respite from parking concerns for a few hours.”
“We proudly support Social Bite, a charity empowering individuals through homes, jobs, food and support. Their Jobs First programme provides real job opportunities to those who’ve experienced homelessness, long-term unemployment, or the care system. Through Jobs First, we’ve employed four individuals in our NSL contracts in Edinburgh and London.”
“We’re proud to partner with Brent Council, making an annual contribution to sponsor a tree fund initiative. Our first contribution has already led to the planting of six trees in the borough. Trees play a crucial role in combating climate change by purifying the air, reducing pollution and releasing oxygen.”
Our technology
NSL leverages the latest technologies to meet client needs, ensuring efficient and productive parking enforcement services.
Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) : Managing kerbside activities
We have numerous Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solutions across Marston's business entities, prioritising development based on client requirements.
Marston Notice Processing System (MNPS), built on Microsoft PaaS, is Cloud First and AI ready. Our inhouse frameworks for RPA and conversational AI automate tasks, reducing human error and ensuring data security. Our Digital Workforce Platform is used by over 96% of our BPO clients,
Body-worn cameras: Improving safety
Our technology-driven approach ensures that parking enforcement is both efficient and effective. Body-worn cameras play a crucial role for CEOs. These devices not only enhance the safety of the attendants by providing a clear record of interactions but also ensure transparency and
Apply: Simplifying permit management
A multi-tenanted permit management product, offering virtual and/or paper permits, dispensations and suspensions. It simplifies permit management for local authorities, automates processes, and provides 24/7 customer access.
MNPS: Future proofing notice processing
With over 20 years in civil parking enforcement, our expertise and technical capabilities have led to the development of an advanced NPS for on and offstreet parking and camera enforcement.
The benefits:
Pay-as-you-go: Charges are based on the number of notices issued.
Comprehensive support: High-level proactive and responsive monitoring with 24/7 support.
Modular system: Choose modules to fit your needs, offering flexibility and adaptability.
it enables significant cost savings and operational efficiency, and it won a UK IT Industry Award for Automation.
Other AI examples:
ANPR cameras maximising compliance
Conversational AI platform for chat bots
AI for ANPR and traffic analytics
AIRA: AI-enabled response assistant for PCN letters
accountability in enforcement activities. The footage from body-worn cameras can be used to resolve disputes, verify incidents and maintain high standards of conduct, ultimately fostering trust between the public and enforcement officers.
Benefits include:
Streamlines permit management
Automates complex pricing models
Reduces manual intervention
Scalable: Integrates with existing systems like ANPR cameras, payment gateways and more. Can be paired with traffic and air quality solutions.
User-friendly: Built on modern cloud technologies (Microsoft Azure) for security, scalability and resilience.
SaaS solution: Allows for faster, incremental deployments and flexibility.
Enhanced monitoring: Ensures compliance, accurate data management and data integrity throughout the parking/penalty charge notice lifecycle.
Customer contact centres
NSL provides high quality, scalable, innovative and cost-effective outsourcing solutions, to increase and protect revenue on behalf of our clients.
We operate from two UK customer service centres with a hybrid working model, staffed by more than 350 experienced agents. They currently handle over one million calls, review over 700,000 CCTV clips from automatic numberplate recognition (ANPR) cameras and process over 730,000 items of correspondence each year. We can mobilise and implement support services in short timescales, including:
Customer contact services - Our advisers are UK-based, providing cost-effective empathetic handling of customer queries, bookings and payments. Customers can choose to engage with us through various channels including webchat, SMS, webforms and voice. With processes designed to meet client specific requirements and robust information management systems, we ensure that every contact is handled effectively and to a high quality.
Correspondence handling - We manage the multi-channel communication cycle for correspondence, receiving, processing,
distributing responses to incoming messages and queries, as well as drafting and sending outgoing communications with regards to PCNs and FPNs.
CCTV reviewing - We process over one million CCTV clips on behalf of local authorities to undertake the review of CCTV evidence in the preparation of PCNs issued as a consequence of moving traffic contraventions and clean air zones/neighbourhoods. Advisors work with a variety of CCTV systems.
All these services can be provided on a 'resilience' basis to cost effectively manage the peaks and flows of demand experienced by clients as they implement new CCTV camera locations, introduce new moving traffic schemes (e.g. Part 6 legislation) or to cover seasonal periods of client staff absence (e.g. summer holidays).
Notice processing - We work with local authorities to develop and deliver solutions that integrate with existing systems to streamline processing and monitor performance to ensure the highest levels of customer experience. We also have our own system, MNPS (see page 8)
Procurement
There are several procurement routes open to you to access our services. These include:
Marston Holdings has created a portfolio of brands that specialise in their own sectors and work collaboratively to enable the delivery of differentiated integrated solutions. This allows clients to benefit from the specific expertise of each part of the Group through the provision of bespoke solutions that best meet their needs.
Vortex is a dynamic and market-leading company at the forefront of smart city technologies. The company builds environmental sensors, networks and data solutions to support decarbonisation efforts globally. As experts in the latest IoT, AI, 5G and LiDAR technology, Vortex enables smart cities and infrastructures to become more efficient, safer and greener.
Project Centre is an award-winning streetscape design, engineering and landscape architecture consultancy that is passionate about creating places that are attractive, innovative, sustainable and safe.
Videalert is the UK's leading supplier of intelligent traffic management and enforcement solutions for moving traffic and parking contraventions as well as clean air and low emission zones.
Engage is a technology-driven, field services provider that conducts over 50,000 visits to people and properties every month for the utilities, financial services and public sectors.
ParkTrade is a leading European provider of road tolling and charging solutions for clean air and low emission zone charges, congestion zones, penalty charge notices for civil traffic contraventions and free flow road tolls. The company can also help recover debt from foreign registered vehicles.
Marston Recovery recovers unpaid money in the most efficient and effective way possible, all whilst ensuring the services we provide are firm and fair to the customer who owes money.
Scott & Co is Scotland’s largest provider of diligence and citation services and the country's largest employer of Sheriff Officers and Messengers-at-Arms.
