Walker elected as BPA chair

British Parking Association confirms North Essex Parking Partnership’s head of parking will lead board of directors

Richard Walker, head of parking at the North Essex Parking Partnership, has been elected as chair of the British Parking Association’s board of directors.

The BPA is a trade association that has around 750 members drawn from across the public and private parking sectors.

The board of directors develops strategy, oversees the objectives and management of the association. It collectively maintains legal responsibility for the association. The board is selected by the BPA’s Council of Representatives, a body whose members are elected from across the association’s different membership groups.

The BPA board is currently led by vice chair Philip Hammer, parking operations manager at Cambridgeshire County Council. Hammer stepped up to this role following the resignation of Anjna Patel MBE in December 2024.

Richard Walker has led the North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP), a grouping of local authorities, for 14 years. The organisation is a partnership between Essex County Council and Braintree, Colchester, Epping Forest, Harlow, Tendring and Uttlesford councils, with Colchester Borough Council as the lead authority. Walker was previously parking manager at Colchester City Council.

Currently serving as the BPA’s president, a largely ceremonial role, Walker will step into the chair’s role in July when he hands over the presidency to Mike Marrs, chief executive officer of debt recovery company APN Group.