13/3/2008

Local News in Fleet

Council to repay controversial parking fines?

Controversial parking restrictions in Fleet town centre cannot be enforced, a national adjudicator has ruled.

It means thousands of penalty charge notices have been wrongly given to drivers since May 2006.

The ruling, by the National Parking Adjudication Service (NPAS), has delighted campaigner Peter Ashford.

He is now calling on Hart District Council to pay back the 6,000-plus motorists it
has fined. 

Even if all the motorists paid early, shelling out £30 rather than the full £60 fine, this would cost the council about £200,000.

Mr Ashford helped former Hook resident Stephen Robson at the latest appeal, held in Winchester last Thursday.

Mr Robson had parked in the bay outside the Captured Moments shop in Fleet Road in January 2007. He received a penalty charge notice (PCN), although he was unaware that parking was banned, because there were no prohibition notices or yellow lines in place.

Barrister Mark Emerton’s decision states that Mr Robson’s analyses of the legalities of the road markings were correct and those of Mr Hislop were wrong.

The ruling is final and binding on the council. It states: “I further conclude that the difference between what is required, and what has actually been painted on the carriage-way, is so great that the bays in Fleet Road cannot be enforced.”

A Hampshire County Council spokeswoman said: “The council notes the adjudication and is considering the potential implications in conjunction with Hart District Council prior to deciding what action is necessary.”

For more on this story and news that the council has been criticised by an independent ombudsman for sending a bailiff to a man's home over a parking fine see this week's Fleet News.

First printed in: Fleet News and Mail