Mourning family hit with parking ticket for taxi rank

A RETIRED businessman mourning the death of his late mother is furiously contesting a parking ticket he says was issued on an unfair, “morally wrong” basis.

Andy Solly and his partner had just taken his 99-year-old father to Wokingham Cemetery to pay their respects and commemorate the 23rd anniversary of her death on Sunday, September 16 last year.

Afterwards, they drove to Wokingham’s town centre for a meal at Cote Brasserie in Broad Street.

Mr Solly’s father, a disabled Blue Badge holder who was recovering from a broken thighbone at the time, needed easy access to the building in his wheelchair. Unfortunately, according to Mr Solly, the single car parking space on Broad Street was occupied and the only space available was in the otherwise empty taxi rank outside Montague House.

As a result, Mr Solly parked in the taxi rank, displayed his father’s Blue Badge and entered the restaurant for approximately 90 minutes. When he returned at 1.58pm, he found he had received a parking fine of £70, or £35 if paid within 14 days.

Mr Solly said that he immediately challenged the penalty, claiming that the blue badge was clearly on display. He said: “There was not a single taxi in sight.

“I made the mature decision not to block the bus stop or the double yellow lines.”

As a result he has been campaigning to get Wokingham Borough Council to drop the charge, known as a PCN.

However, Wokingham Parking Services (WPC) told Mr Solly that a Blue Badge is not valid for parking concessions so the fine still stood, and pointed out that the Parking Services could not continue dialogue on this matter.

Mr Solly then emailed a number

Wokingham Town Council of representatives including Deputy Town Mayor Cllr Malcolm Richards and council officers explaining what had happened.

He asked all of them: “Where are cars with disabled stickers supposed to park in Broad Street?” and requested that this “harsh” PCN to be rescinded. He was told that parking is not the responsibility of the town council but of the borough council.

On Wednesday, December 19, Mr Solly’s charge was increased to £105 due to non-payment.

He said that he then contacted Wokingham Town Mayor – and now Wokingham Borough Council leader – Cllr Julian McGhee-Sumner on Friday, December 28, again appealing against his PCN. He also asked why there are “two taxi ranks in Broad Street when the one outside the old Montague House seems to be the only one that ever gets used by taxis?”

Mr Solly said that Cllr McGheeSumner’s reply said that Wokingham had outsourced parking enforcement and so he was unable to cancel the PCN himself.

Previously a manager of outsourcing contracts himself, Mr Solly claimed that this was not the case: “I therefore disagree with your statement that Wokingham Borough Council does not have any control over its outsourcing company”, asking for the PCN to again be withdrawn.

Mr Solly said he was advised to appeal the ticket, so he then wrote to Wokingham Borough Council’s interim chief executive Heather Thwaites to request an informal appeal, but he said that he was told by a parking manager that a blue badge does not entitle any concession to use a taxis-only taxi rank, as a nearby sign suggests and that penalty was correctly issued.

The battle has left Mr Solly infuriated while “my father thinks it is unbelievable”. Mr Solly also believes this reflects “prejudice against Blue Badge holders as, by observation, white vans are the most frequent users of that particular taxi rank and never seemed to get booked.”

Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, Executive Member for Highways and Transport at Wokingham Borough Council, told The Wokingham Paper: “It wouldn’t be appropriate to comment on an ongoing case”, although she emphasised that “blue badges do not permit parking on taxi ranks ... or anywhere potentially dangerous”.

She also said: “As part of our improvements, we’ve increased the number of disabled parking bays available in Market Place to seven”.