b'Section 5 of the Local Authorities (Land Use) Act 1963 contains an income-generation power for local authorities to provide off-street accommodation for the keeping of motor vehicles within their area. The section enables authorities to erect garages, construct hard standings or convert buildings into garages. Authorities can build single garages or garages having accommodation for several vehicles. The section also contains specific power for the authority to let any such garage or hard standing for such period, with consideration and subject to such terms and conditions as it thinks fit, to any person for the purpose of the accommodation of a motor vehicle. The authority may also manage, repair, maintain and insure any such garage or hard standing. This section does not allow the authority to carry on the following activities: (a)the storage or sale of fuel or lubricants; (b)the sale of motor vehicles or accessories, spare parts or equipment for motor vehicles; (c)the business of maintaining or repairing motor vehicles, or to provide facilities or apparatus for any of the above activities. Many residents in urban areas have problems parking vehicles on the streets. Local authorities from time to time have been known to hang on to the odd piece of spare land. If the spare land is in the vicinity of the area suffering from parking congestion, this section provides a handy solution for all concerned. However, the following case (R (on the application of Attfield v London Borough of Barnet [2013] EWHC 2089 (the Attfield case) before Mrs Justice Lang is a timely reminder of the limits of a local authoritys power to charge for parking. Mr Attfield was a disgruntled resident of Barnet LBC who brought a judicial review action against the London Boroughs decision in 2011 to increase the charges for residents parking permits and visitor vouchers in Controlled Parking Zones (CPZ) in the Borough.Under section 45 of the 1984 Act a local authority has power to designate parking places on the highway, to charge for use of them, and to issue parking permits for a charge. Mr Attfield alleged that, on this occasion, the increase in charges was unlawful because its purpose was to generate a surplus, beyond the monies needed to operate the parking scheme, to fund other transport expenditure, such as road repair and concessionary fares.Under section 145 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999, the Council had to produce a plan setting out how it intended to implement the Mayor for Londons parking strategy. Barnets plan said that charges could exceed the operational costs of the CPZ. Under section 65 of the 1984 Act, the income from charges is paid into a special account, and the operational costs deducted. That account had been in surplus for many years and in 2011 the surplus stood at about 5m, which was used to cover part of the cost of highways investment, roads and footways, highways maintenance, concessionary fares and home to school transport.When it decided to increase the charges, Barnet was trying to prevent this source of income decreasing (otherwise it would have had to make cuts in services) and to increase it, hopefully to some 7.5m. 126'