What do you do?

When councils were given the powers to enforce parking in 1992, I was the first of these creatures called chief adjudicators – since then I've been working to develop services. We now deal with appeals against 260 local authorities across England and Wales and deal with around 15,000 appeals a year. Not a lot of people realise they can appeal against a council-issued parking ticket, but they're successful in about 65% of cases.

What sorts of things have you introduced?

Telephone hearings are one of our new initiatives; all parties can take part and people can explain their case. We've had a fantastic response. People can also appeal online and in person, booking slots between 8am and 8pm, much like a doctor's surgery. We try to reduce the amount of information councils send out – for example they can send out 118-page bundles of traffic regulation orders if you dispute a ticket. So we now have a library on a website that people can access and are encouraging councils to do the same. It's less daunting and obviously cuts costs for councils.

How did you enter the role?

I was a barrister and had been working in the magistrates courts and I never had a dull day. It's important to keep it in proportion – it is a parking ticket – but people take them very seriously. I realised that parking brought people closer together. I realised that magistrates were run for everyone except users and I felt passionate about creating a tribunal where everyone could have their say. It's the most exciting thing that's happened to me.

What else could improve the service?

It's important to encourage a system where people can attach photos and information at an earlier date so everyone can see the evidence before it gets to us. I'd very much like to see a place where common sense applies and appeals are resolved without going to court. It's also absolutely essential that there's an ombudsman that deals with private parking very much on the lines of ours.

What's your leadership style?

Participative. I always challenge people to embrace new ideas. Our 24 adjudicators are all independent (and work part-time) but I've fostered a tight-knit team where we treat each other as colleagues. I'm based in Manchester but do a lot of travelling to hearings in Essex and elsewhere to keep my hand in. I like to remind the team to put themselves in other people's shoes.

How do you relax?

A good book on a long train journey is bliss. Although I do have a huge pile of books waiting.