Aldi Facebook Page Kicking Off after Parking Eye LBAs

bazster

Notwithstanding that the Car Park Management Strategy is nowhere to be found, the planning condition itself states that the maximum duration of stay and the enforcement procedures must "replicate the restrictions on the adjacent town centre car park".

This looks to me like a clear attempt to prevent a ParkingEye infestation, and inevitably Aldi has totally ignored it.

If I were you I would visit both car parks and take careful note of all the ways in which the Aldi/ParkingEye regime does not replicate the regime in the adjacent town centre car park. Then write a polite letter/email to Lancaster Council planning department asking them if (i) the Strategy document was ever submitted, and if so can you please see it (you may need to visit the council offices to view documents; take a digital camera because they usually make hefty charges for photocopying) (ii) if the document was never submitted, what is the council going to do about this breach of the planning conditions? and (iii) describe the ways in which the Aldi/ParkingEye regime breaches the condition that it must replicate the adjacent car park, and ask what the council intends to do about it?

There is no need to go to the council all guns blazing, in my experience council planning officers are approachable and helpful, hence polite and friendly is the best way. In the unlikely event you do encounter problems, take the matter up with your councillor (assuming you live in the Lancaster Council area).

I dealt with a very similar case where Aldi were obliged by planning conditions to operate their car park on the same terms as the council's own car parks. Obviously Aldi ignored this and installed ParkingEye. I had to prod the council a couple of times but in the end they did take it up with Aldi, who were obliged to remove ParkingEye from the car park.

Northlakes

@Steve NW

I think there is some mileage with CM's Distance Contract Regulations which came in June. It may sow some seeds of confusion with regard to signage compliance at this site. I'm doing some further work on this at a more northerly location which has a similar planning problem.

Don't let the planners sit back, keep up the pressure. It would be unfair on Booths next door to get all the cars parked from Aldi's customers outing the PE 1 1/2 hour restriction a few yards away.

bazster

Northlakes wrote: »

@Steve NW

I think there is some mileage with CM's Distance Contract Regulations which came in June. It may sow some seeds of confusion with regard to signage compliance at this site. I'm doing some further work on this at a more northerly location which has a similar planning problem.

Don't let the planners sit back, keep up the pressure. It would be unfair on Booths next door to get all the cars parked from Aldi's customers outing the PE 1 1/2 hour restriction a few yards away.

A problem with those regulations is that they define a service contract as "a contract, other than a sales contract, under which a trader supplies or agrees to supply a service to a consumer and the consumer pays or agrees to pay the price."

In a free supermarket car park, where the PPC operates on a breach-of-contract basis, the consumer does not agree to pay a price for the service, therefore it would appear there is no service contract within the meaning of the regulations.

Obviously this doesn't apply where the PPC dresses up their fake fine as a contractual charge (e.g. most IPC cases). In these circumstances the PPC would appear to be hoist on their own petard. "You say I contracted to pay you £100? Great, I hereby cancel that contract!"

nigelbb

bazster wrote: »

In a free supermarket car park, where the PPC operates on a breach-of-contract basis, the consumer does not agree to pay a price for the service, therefore it would appear there is no service contract within the meaning of the regulations.

It is nonsense for the PPC to claim that the driver enters into a contract in a free supermarket car park. Just like my local Tesco that has a gigantic FREE PARKING sign at the entrance in the case of a free car park the retailer is giving a licence to park as an incentive to shop in their store. Unreadable PPC signs scattered around the car park high up on lamp posts don't mean the driver entered into a contract with anybody.

bazster

nigelbb wrote: »

It is nonsense for the PPC to claim that the driver enters into a contract in a free supermarket car park. Just like my local Tesco with it's gigantic FREE PARKING sign at the entrance the retailer is giving a licence to park as an incentive to shop in their store. Unreadable PPC signs scattered around the car park high up on lamp posts don't mean the driver entered into a contract with anybody.

Well yes, the fact that there is no contract at all is a fairly compelling reason why there's no contract within the meaning of these regs and why there's nothing to cancel anyway!

I absolutely agree that the very existence of a bloody great shop with a bloody great customer car park is as obvious a licence to park as you could imagine!

NWSteve

And bump!

Had a little trip back out to the new Aldi in Carnforth to get some pics of the parking signage there, as well as at the neighbouring Booths.

I'd always presumed the Booths car park was council land...it's not, and they refer to a £50 parking charge if you park for more than 2 hours (as well as the usual rules you get in private car parks). Nothing about customer-only parking either. There is no sign of any PPC infestation on the signage and nothing about the BPA/IPC, so it is looks like a POFA-free car park.

So next week I'll get on to the council about the Aldi planning breach then.:j

I wish I could post pics...!

Fruitcake

NWSteve wrote: »

And bump!

Had a little trip back out to the new Aldi in Carnforth to get some pics of the parking signage there, as well as at the neighbouring Booths.

I'd always presumed the Booths car park was council land...it's not, and they refer to a £50 parking charge if you park for more than 2 hours (as well as the usual rules you get in private car parks). Nothing about customer-only parking either. There is no sign of any PPC infestation on the signage and nothing about the BPA/IPC, so it is looks like a POFA-free car park.

So next week I'll get on to the council about the Aldi planning breach then.:j

I wish I could post pics...!

Upload photo's to tinypic or photobucket then type the URL on here but replace http with hxxp then one of us can convert it for others to see.

NWSteve

Hi Fruitcake. Here are the pic links:

Booths 2 hour pics:
hxxp://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx322/MrSteve/006-2.jpg
hxxp://s768.photobucket.com/user/MrSteve/media/007-1.jpg.html

And the Aldi 1 1/2 hour customer only pics:
hxxp://s768.photobucket.com/user/MrSteve/media/005-4.jpg.html
hxxp://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx322/MrSteve/009-1.jpg

:T

Fruitcake

Hi Fruitcake. Here are the pic links:

Booths 2 hour pics:
http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx322/MrSteve/006-2.jpg
http://s768.photobucket.com/user/MrSteve/media/007-1.jpg.html

And the Aldi 1 1/2 hour customer only pics:
http://s768.photobucket.com/user/MrSteve/media/005-4.jpg.html
http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx322/MrSteve/009-1.jpg

:T

trisontana

Note that very large wodge of small print which is just impossible to read. Then, if you want to take things literally, the sign is saying that BB holders and "parents and toddlers" can only park in the specially marked bays and nowhere else. Finally, how do you define a "toddler"? Do you go by age, height or whatever? meaningless and gibberish signs.