Forestry commission gave me a ticket

crowdedhouse

Took my daughter to the woods today for about 30 mins and returned to find a £5 ticket on my car to pay by midnight. If I don't pay in 14 days it rises to 10. Can they do this? I was aware that you need to buy a £3 ticket but its an all day ticket and I didn't think you needed it for a quick visit.

God I thought woods were free now you need to pay £3 for a 30min walk

sarahg1969

Interesting. I think it would be useful if you could show us the ticket. This is possibly/probably a private ticket, but may well make reference to some byelaws or other legislation, in which case it shouldn't be ignored.

Let's have a look.

crowdedhouse

It does state forestry commision byelaw 1982. I will dispute it though because it is terrible that you can't even go to your local wood nowdays without getting a ticket.

Orford

http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=cache:xvs-vPx3ZqoJ:www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/FCByelaws1982.pdf/%24FILE/FCByelaws1982.pdf+forestry+commision+byelaw+1982&hl=en&gl=uk

5. No person shall in or on the lands of the Commissioners:-


(xxxi) wilfully evade payment of any charges or tolls levied by the Commissioners for the use of car parks or forest roads.

sarahg1969

If it's issued under forestry byelaws, there probably isn't a specific wording that it must adhere to. Only a fiver to be lost by an appeal, though, so you might think it's worth it. Not sure what your grounds will be, however.

Tigsteroonie

From the Forestry Commission's website:

Parking in Forestry Commission car parks

Forestry Commission research has shown that six out of ten people think that woodlands are enjoyable places to visit.


We manage more than 1,500 woodlands covering over 200,000 hectares and work hard across all of them to make them attractive and interesting places to visit. Some are small and secluded while others are visited by hundreds of thousands of people, meaning that in all we host over 100 million visits a year.


We want to encourage as many people as possible, from all walks of life, to take the opportunity to visit our woodlands whether this is for recreation, exercise, education, to boost their well-being or, of course, for pure enjoyment.


To help visitors make the most of their visit, we provide a wide range of facilities. These range from car parks, visitor centres and waymarked trails to some of the country’s most challenging mountain bike trails and specially designed play areas. We employ over 300 staff to ensure that visitors are well looked after and we carry out regular inspections to ensure people stay safe and have an enjoyable visit. All of our trails are inspected at least three times a year and many of them weekly or monthly.


To help meet the costs of maintaining our visitor facilities and creating new exciting attractions we charge for car parking at some sites. We are currently running a trial to see whether paying for car parking by phone may be safer and more convenient for visitors as well as reducing the amount of intrusive equipment in the woodlands.


All of our woodlands are free to access on foot apart from those at Westonbirt.

Payment Reminder Notice

If you would like to appeal or challenge your reminder to pay notice please email [EMAIL="carparkingappeals@forestry.gsi.gov.uk"]carparkingappeals@forestry.gsi.gov.uk[/EMAIL]

Include full details of your vehicle, the parking date and the reminder notice number. Explain in as much detail as possible why you consider that you do not need to pay the parking reminder.

Alternatively use the envelope provided to post your enquiry or challenge. Remember to enclose your reminder details.

sarahg1969

I suspect the ticket itself will contain details of how to appeal.

photome

It is not £3 for 30 mins it is £3 for all day use which IMO is good value. It was your choice to only be there for 30 mins.

In Thetford forest park it used to be £6 all day it is now £1.60 an hour with a max of £9.

The Park is very well maintained with 4 cycle trails and is very well used, If there was no charge it wouldnt be maintained and wouldnt be used (again IMO).

Of course you could always go for a walk (without the car) and it would be free.

It is your choice wether to appeal and you may be succesful.

peter_the_piper

I think that this is one of the times when its just not worth the effort to appeal being just a tad over the cost of the parking anyway. I would be inclined to pay and remember next time. I never thought I'd ever say that.

withabix

crowdedhouse wrote: »

I was aware that you need to buy a £3 ticket but its an all day ticket and I didn't think you needed it for a quick visit.

God I thought woods were free now you need to pay £3 for a 30min walk

No, you have to pay to park. You didn't. You got caught.

I suggest you pay up!

lisamummytoarchieplusbump

my local forest hainult its £1 for an hour or £2 all day and theres a farm there so deffinatly worth the £2.

so not having an hour payment i would ashume it was £3 whever your there 30mins or 5 hours.