Grid Smarter Cities founder Neil Herron has been recognised for more than two decades of work transforming parking enforcement and pioneering digital kerbside management by receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award at the British Parking Awards.
The award recognises a parking professional who has made an outstanding contribution to the sector across their career and represents a “model of excellence”.
The judges recognised Mr Herron’s career spanning campaigning, legal reform, policy development and transport technology innovation.
After beginning his working life as a market trader, he first came to national prominence through the “Metric Martyrs” campaign before turning his attention to parking regulation and motorists’ rights. He co-founded the National Motorists Action Group and contributed evidence to the House of Commons Transport Select Committee on parking penalties, enforcement and wider road-user policy.
Mr Herron subsequently moved from challenging enforcement practices to developing technology designed to make compliance easier and prevent penalties arising in the first place.
He began developing the concept of a Virtual Loading Bay in 2011 and founded Grid Smarter Cities in 2015. The company has since developed the Kerb® platform, offering solutions including bookable Virtual Loading Bays, dynamic kerbside permissions, geofencing and intelligent access management.
The technology is designed to help local authorities manage kerbside space more efficiently while reducing congestion, improving compliance and supporting safer and more sustainable urban deliveries.
Mr Herron is named as the inventor on 18 granted and pending patents covering digital kerbside management, mobility orchestration and connected transport.
He has also contributed to national policy through the Department for Transport’s Kerbside Management Discovery Report and as a member of TRL’s Kerbside Management Task Force. His wider industry work has included collaboration with ITS UK, the British Parking Association, local authorities, academic institutions and freight operators.
More recently, his work has expanded into areas including AI-enabled network management, autonomous mobility, accessibility and connected city systems. Initiatives have included Kerb Care, which explores how digital kerbside infrastructure could support carers and vulnerable people, and the Safe Stops campaign to identify safer and lawful stopping locations for delivery drivers.
Speaking after collecting the award at the ceremony at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel, Neil Herron said: “I am deeply honoured to receive this award. My journey into parking began more than two decades ago, challenging enforcement practices I believed were unfair. I later realised the greatest opportunity was not simply to challenge the system, but to help make it work better.
“That has driven my work ever since: using technology, innovation and collaboration to make compliance easier and improve kerbside management for motorists, businesses and local authorities.”
The honour follows Grid Smarter Cities winning the inaugural Future of Parking Award at the 2025 British Parking Awards. The company has also previously received ITS UK’s Project of the Year and Better Environment Through Technology awards.
“This recognition means a great deal because it comes from an industry I once challenged,” Mr Herron added. “I share it with the investors who believed in our vision, our dedicated team and the many colleagues, associates and partners who have contributed along the way.
“There is still much to do. As cities and mobility evolve, the kerbside will become increasingly important, particularly in enabling autonomous vehicles to understand where and when they can lawfully stop. I hope to continue helping shape a future in which our streets work better for everyone.”
The British Parking Awards are organised by Parking Review magazine and recognise achievement in areas including parking management, enforcement, technology, design and teamwork.
(Picture – Grid Smarter Cities/Highways News)
