Patrols stopped at car park where ambulance got ticket
ENFORCEMENT SUSPENDED AS REVIEW HELD OVER PARKING CONTRACT
PARKING patrols have been suspended at a shopping park where an ambulance was controversially slapped with a ticket.
The North West Ambulance crew had parked the vehicle on double yellow lines outside the Tesco in Kingsmead, Northwich, while they nipped in to get refreshments.
However a video filmed by a passer-by showed them becoming embroiled in a row with the parking attendant who insisted they should be parked in an allocated bay and eventually issues a ticket.
That’s despite one paramedic’s plea she hadn’t had anything to eat or drink during her eight hour shift.
The incident on Tuesday sparked fury in some quarters, with the warden being accused by many of being over-zealous and showing disrespect to our hard-working emergency services.
The firm, Euro Parking Services (EPS), have since apologised and rescinded the charge notice.
However, the owners of the site, which contains a number of other shops and businesses, have gone one step further and have now suspended all parking patrols at the site, off Regency Way.
They also said a full review into their contract with the company would now be carried out and no wardens would be allowed onto the site until that had been completed.
In a statement, the LCP Group said: “As owners of Kingsmead Square, in Northwich, we are of course very disappointed to see that members of the emergency services have had an issue with a parking officer. LCP supports all of our emergency services, and their staff and vehicles are regular visitors to our shopping centres and retail parades across the UK, where they are always welcome.
“We employ Euro Parking Services (EPS) to manage the parking at Kingsmead Square to ensure that everyone that wants to shop can do so without any unnecessary hindrance while using the car park.
“On this occasion, we do not agree with the parking officer’s interpretation of the parking restrictions relating to emergency vehicles.
“A full review of the EPS contract will be undertaken at this site.
“In the meantime all enforcement and patrols at Kingsmead Square have been stopped and EPS will not be visiting site again pending completion of the review.”
The British Parking Association (BPA), of which EPS isn’t an approved operator, says in its code of conduct: “You must respect the needs of the emergency services to carry out their duties without your taking enforcement action against them” which includes all liveried emergency vehicles.
EPS said afterwards they would be re-training their parking wardens and making a donation to the North West Ambulance charity as a gesture of goodwill.