Time to sort out town parking row, says councillor

MOTION TO BE RAISED AT MEETING TODAY WILL CALL FOR COUNCIL TO INTERVENE

COUNCILLORS are being urged to work with a parking firm which has been accused of wrongly fining drivers for using a town car park.

ParkingEye, which operates and manages parking in the Belvoir Retail and Leisure Quarter, in Coalville, has faced months of criticism from motorists over fines issued from the site.

Now, one councillor fears the ongoing problem has led to a decrease in visitors to the town and has called on his colleagues and the council to work with the firm to resolve the issue once and for all.

In a motion that will be tabled before North West Leicestershire District Council, Councillor John Legrys will say he believes the continuing complaints cannot be ignored any longer.

“Residents and shoppers are being inappropriately fined and their complaints are not being given a satisfactory response,” Coun Legrys will tell colleagues.

“There are concerns that there is confusion about the public rights of vehicular access through this now private land, that signage and instructions for payment options are unclear and that the operator is not conforming to the British Parking Association Code of Practice.

“This is leading to a downturn in footfall as many shoppers and visitors now find it more convenient to shop in towns where the signage and parking charges are more straightforward and understood.”

Coun Legrys’ worries come after months of misery for motorists using the Retail Quarter’s lower car parks, which have been under ParkingEye’s jurisdiction for more than a year.

The firm was appointed to head up operations across the site, and one other in the town, after Gylo became the new owners of the Belvoir Shopping Centre.

However, it is a move that has led to many drivers being fined even though they say they were within their allotted time.

Others say they received fines even though they had not used the car park.

Last month, tensions rose even further when ParkingEye applied for retrospective planning permission for its cameras, leading to allegations from the public that the firm had been operating illegally.

However, the firm strongly denied these claims.

Coun Legrys says the time has come for the council to try to resolve the issue.

“It is important for those with a stake in the town centre to work together to promote Coalville Town Centre as a place for shopping, leisure, local heritage and the National Forest,” he will say in the motion.

Calling for an urgent reassessment of the situation, he will urge the council “to work with the car park owners and operator to address the concerns”.

Councillors will discuss the motion at their meeting today.

Last month, the firm told the Mercury: “ParkingEye operates a BPA (British Parking Association) audited appeals process, which motorists can use to appeal their Parking Charge Notice.

“If anyone has mitigating circumstances, we would encourage them to highlight this by appealing.

“All motorists are also entitled to a further appeal via POPLA (Parking on Private Land appeals), the independent body which reviews all cases,” the company added.