R (on the application of Attfield) v London Borough of Barnet [2013] EWHC 2089 (Admin), [2013] All ER (D) 248 (Jul)
The defendant local authority decided to increase the charges for residents' parking permits and visitors vouchers in controlled parking zones in the borough pursuant to s 45 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 under which an authority had power to designate parking places on the highway, to charge for use of them and to issue parking permits for charge. The claimant, a resident of the borough, challenged the decision by way of judicial review, contending that the increase in charges was unlawful because its purpose was to generate a surplus, beyond the money needed to operate the parking scheme, to fund other transport expenditure, such as road repair and concessionary fares. The court ruled that the 1984 Act was not a taxing statute although the permit charges generated revenue for the local authority. A public body had to exercise a statutory power for the purpose for which the power had been conferred by Parliament, and not for any unauthorised purpose. The court went on to
