Llangrannog Beach car park - PCNs when prevented from paying

ParkingMad

Another story from BBC News today:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-49883876

'Unreasonable' Llangrannog parking fines 'deterring visitors'

By Craig Duggan, BBC Wales news
1st October 2019

"Unreasonable" parking fines are keeping visitors away from a seaside village, a councillor has warned.

A solar-powered ticket machine was installed on private land on Llangrannog's seafront in Ceredigion by One Parking Solution in April.

But it is frequently out of charge and visitors are often unable to pay online or by text because of poor phone signal and wi-fi, Councillor Gwyn James said.

The company said to avoid a fine visitors should either pay or leave.

Mr James said visitors were being fined £100 for staying in the car park for 10 minutes without paying.

"I've received many complaints since the beginning of the summer," he said.

"It's all down to the machine being run on a solar panel. There are too many complaints to count - from England where the holidaymakers we rely on come from, but also from many locals too.

"There is another car park - a free one - which the county council operates but it's 800m away up the hill - and I know some people won't be able to walk the hill. So we need something down in the village."

In April One Parking Solution installed the ticket machine and cameras to recognise number plates of cars as they drive in.

If the machine is out of order car park users have a 10 minute grace period to pay by text, online or calling a number.

Gwenan Jenkins from Lampeter is appealing against a fine she was sent after taking her children to the beach.

She said: "When I went to pay for my ticket the machine wasn't working.

"Within about 20 minutes after keeping an eye on the machine I saw someone else buying a ticket so I ran over to the machine to buy a ticket but by then I was apparently outside the grace period of ten minutes."

She said she received a £100 fine through the post which would be reduced to £60 if paid in 14 days.

"I haven't paid as I'm appealing against the decision," she said.

"Going to Llangrannog is meant to be a pleasurable experience but this has put a real dampener on things. I don't know if I'll be going there again."

Julia Palframan, who owns the Patio Cafe next to the beach, said the issue was having "a very negative impact on the business and on the village as a whole".

"We have a lot of people contacting us by letter and by phone saying they have been fined. It's really not fair to any of us in the village - all we can say to people is, if you're fit enough, park in the free car park up the hill."

Helena Boyesen from Llangrannog Welfare Committee has started to keep a file of letters and complaints related to the car park.

"The small villages on the coast are virtually totally reliant for income and employment on tourism," she said.

"In many of the letters it says 'I shan't be visiting again'.

"Our concerns are that this could have some kind of effect on the economic sustainability of this village."

In a statement One Parking Solution said: "If a driver disagrees with the clearly displayed terms of parking they have the choice to either leave the car park within the grace period or remain and accept a parking charge.

"Unfortunately some drivers choose to remain on site assuming that it's free parking if they have no change, mobile phone or they can't get a ticket from the onsite machine."

It added the default grace period of 10 minutes was is set out in the British Parking Association code of practice.

Ralph-y

I spy a business opportunity here ......


do you think I will get planning permission for a market stall selling socks and gaffa tape , some where near the car park entrance ?





Ralph:cool:

R90alc

I parked and paid in July. Received a fine for 60. Appealed and lost with op and popla. Today I've got a receipt from just park who is the third party, stating I've paid, provides time, and then screenshots showing it's for my car and the reg ect.

Now I just don't know if I should contact OP or wait for them to take me to court as the fine is now 100 as they've up it

GlynDwr

I think it could be safely argued that the grace period is whatever time it takes to park plus purchase ticke tor not if unable, plus whatever time it takes to exit carpark. Quite a trick for the parking company to have a machine that does not work most of the time, and an app that can't be used as no mobile signal. A good money making scam for them.


With the huge impact this must be having on a small village and its economy reliant on tourism, I am rather surprised the locals have not opted for some peaceful non violent direct action to disable anpr cameras etc.

Umkomaas

Quite a trick for the parking company to have a machine that does not work most of the time, and an app that can't be used as no mobile signal.

It's rather odd that their ANPR cameras don't seem to have similar problems!

A good money making scam for them.

Nail and head come to mind!

ParkingMad

Some more information about this car park in this entertaining blog-

http://exasperatedof.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-parking-pirates-of-llangrannog-bay.html?m=1

Tuesday, 1 October 2019
The Parking Pirates of Llangrannog Bay

The BBC have today picked up on the dissent in picturesque Llangrannog. A Sussex company is siphoning funds directly out of this small Ceredigion community. Like buccaneers of yore, One Parking Solution seem to have little regard for the Law.

I had hoped to give POPLA due chance to finish their "independent appeal" process, and to commission a snazzy pirate-ship themed artwork, with BPA logos for portholes and a mast to hang One Parking Solution very own jolly-roger from, but it seems good-Councillor Gwyn James has caught the eye of the newsmen so I have to careen. Arr!

Let's pick out just three unlawful wheezes of the £70,000 helicopter owning Parking Pirates of Llangrannog Bay:

1) No planning consent

Ceredigion County Council began enforcement action against One Parking Solution on the 21st August 2019, for failing to hold planning consent for their advertising signs at the site. This is a breach of s224 of 1990 Town & Country Planning Act. The Development Management Team Leader (Compliance)'s initial investigation did unearth an application in the system, but as of 28th August 2019:
"The application has not been through the validation stage to date. As soon as it is considered valid, then it will show on the web site."
Be sure to keep ye good eye to the spyglass here for Ceredigion's planning site, SA44 6SL is the postcode given.

If you'd like to read more about when/why one needs planning consent for outdoor advertisements, then Newport County Council's planning site has a helpful link to the Advertisement Control booklet - prepared for DfT & Welsh !!! for Wales.

This cutlass carries a bit of a sting, the £1,000 fine on pg27. Arr!

I'd be very surprised if it wasn't in the public interest of Ceredigion's local electorate to make sure that their Planning officers apply to a Magistrate, in short-order, rather than swinging the lead. Though some might think a good keel-hauling would be more expedient.

Arr!

2) Not paying Business rates

Much of our society rests on proper, lawful, behaviour. Taxes may not be welcome, but they fund the nurses that care. Taxes pay for the equipment and salaries of the firefighters who will literally risk their own lives to enter a burning building, vehicle or ship to rescue someone in distress. Taxes pay for police, teachers, judges, courts, the list goes on. And yet, One Parking Solution doesn't feel it needs to pay Business rates in Llangrannog.

Please, don't trust some randomo on the internet. Pick up the phone and ask Ceredigion County Council's Revenue section:

"Is it against the law not to pay Business rates?"

I did You'll receive an emphatic answer, and then some qualifications about hereditaments and reliefs etc.

Gavin Chait has performed a great public service in using the WhatDoTheyKnow.com platform to ask Councils, under the Freedom Of Information Act of 2000, about non-domestic/business rates up and down the country. Here are the Q2 listings for Ceredigion. If you trundle down through the listings something is odd, there is no mention of the car park operated by One Parking Solution.

Taking a look at the many complaints on TripAdvisor directed at Y Llong/The Ship you'll see that the car park has been sold off, which we can match to the entry for "land at the south side of, The Ship Inn" at the HM Land Registry. The picaroons at One Parking Solution have been so quick to want to seize their ill-gotten treasure, to bury in their bulging chests in Sussex, that they haven't even thought of tossing a few pieces to the Crown. One would have expected that the provost and quartermaster, in the guise of conveyancing solicitor and auditing accountant, ought to have spoken of this deception sooner - perhaps a case of no prey, no pay?

Ceredigion County Council's Revenue section escalated this on 22nd August 2019 for joint enforcement with the Valuation Office Agency. The Rateable Value is now to be assessed according to the VOA 2017 practice note, using evidence of parking charge notices issued by ANPR as a minimum basis for determining in a 168 hour/week, backdated since the site was purchased.

Y Llong's sutler may look forward to a lowering of his own dues.

Arr!

3) Unauthorised usage of ICO logos

Those souls brave enough to walk the plank of One Parking Solution's internal appeal process may have not expected to receive any quarter, their appeal was bound to be rejected. They may have felt further intimidated by the inclusion of the logo of the Information Commissioner's Office as the red flag was hoisted. What does the Canadian lady's office have to do with parking? Clearly One Parking Solution were seeking to give their sea-sick assessment an imprimatur of authority as they crimped more for loot.

Following a complaint last week, the ICO confirmed in writing this morning that this use was not sanctioned and
"have referred this to our legal team who will be contacting them shortly"

Arr!


Avast!
As I run a shot across the bow, why is being lawful important (as a floppy haired buffoon found out just last week)? Well, this hempen halter is first weaved by association:

"4.3 Under the Code you must keep to all the requirements laid down by law. The Code reflects our understanding of the law at the date of publication. However, you are responsible for familiarising yourself with the law on any activities covered by the Code."


BPA AOS Code of Practice


One Parking Solution is obliged to follow the terms of the British Parking Association Approved Operator Code of Practice (current version 7 - January 2018). So any Parking Charge Notice issued to date is moot. Arr!

But that's just the tip of the iceberg. The breach of KADOE contract with the DVLA goes much further. I'll outline the grounds for scuttling One Parking Solution in a few days.

ParkingMad

The BBC1 Wales consumer watchdog show X-Ray featured Llangrannog Beach car park and One Parking Solution last week. It can be viewed on Catch-up TV and iPlayer.
Here is the iPlayer link:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0009q9d/xray-series-19-episode-2

Llangrannog starts at 9 minutes into the show. It is available on iPlayer until the 26th of November.

Umkomaas

Thanks for the link.

As per usual, a fairly weak, watery, wholly inconclusive report. The bottom line being, motorists will continue to suffer, small businesses will continue to suffer, the PPC will continue to ravage undeterred.

ParkingMad

The BPA were asked to investigate this car park. Here is their report:

Investigation Report

Re: Llangrannog Beach, Ceredigion, West Wales

I made a visit to this site on Tuesday 5 November 2019 at 12.30pm. The car park is a small surface car park which serves the coastal village of Llangrannog. It is the only convenient car park in the village close to the beach, local pubs and shops. The only other one is located in a field a short walk away from the centre of the village.

The car park is private land managed by AOS members One Parking Solution. There is a standard compliant entrance sign at the only entrance / exit to the car park and several Terms and Condition signs erected within the car park. At least one T&C sign is visible from anywhere within the site. The signs are compliant with the BPA code. The parking facility is managed by the use of an ANPR camera and there are charges for parking depending on the length of stay. These charges are clearly displayed at the entrance next to the pay machine. Customers are invited to pay by either a ‘Pay and Display’ procedure, using the pay machine at the entrance to obtain a ticket to display or alternatively by an online app or a ‘pay by phone’ system. All of the methods require the driver to give their VRM, including the need to manually enter this into the pay machine using a keypad. There is one ANPR camera located at the entrance / exit located on the side of the adjacent Ship Inn.

There is just the one Pay Machine located at the entrance to the car park, which appeared to be powered by a solar panel on top of the machine. After entering the car park and parking, my first choice to pay was to use the pay machine using cash. I pressed the first button on the machine, to enter my VRM. Straight away a message appeared on the screen to inform me the machine was ‘Not in use’. There is no other pay machine available. The alternative methods to pay as advertised on the signs, is either to pay by phone or to use the JustPark App. The App has to be downloaded if the customer does not already have it. Both of these methods require a phone connection or internet connection. There is no mobile phone service in the village of Llangrannog and no internet connection available in the car park. This was confirmed to me by the landlord of the nearby pub. The phone signal is only available after driving out of the village up the hill a distance of a couple of miles. This meant that there was no alternative means to pay for my parking. Not wishing to receive a PCN in the post I drove out of the car park within 10 minutes and parked on the road.

This is apparently a constant issue in this car park as was evident by signs displayed by the adjacent pub and on the pay machine, put up by the residents and business owners to warn visitors. The sole pay machine is solar powered and the sun was not shining at the time of my visit.

My own experience confirmed that it was not possible for me to pay for parking and I had no choice but to leave the car park within 10 minutes. If I had taken longer, presumably I would have received a PCN from One Parking Solution.

I made enquiries with some local residents and the landlord of the Pentre Arms nearby. I was told that it is a continual problem, the pay machine is hardly ever working and all the locals are aware that there is no mobile phone coverage in the village which makes paying by the alternative means impossible. I was also told that the ANPR camera which has been put up on the side of the adjacent Ship Inn has no planning consent, as mentioned by Ben Lake the MP in his letter, although I am not able to confirm this.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The Pay Machine should be converted to mains power so that it works all the time and the alternative means to pay should be removed as it is not possible to use them without a phone connection. Any enforcement and subsequent issue of PCN’s would then have to be by using the physical presence of attendants checking displayed tickets and issuing PCN’s on vehicles.

Umkomaas

I wonder how much notice OPS will pay to that? All of those recommendations will cost them money, especially having to have a weasel stomping around. Maybe the pub, whose business must be affected by them, will let them tap in to their leccy?

I think any POPLA appeal for OPS cases should include a copy of this report.

Thanks PM for the feedback.

My own experience confirmed that it was not possible for me to pay for parking and I had no choice but to leave the car park within 10 minutes. If I had taken longer, presumably I would have received a PCN from One Parking Solution.

Wouldn't that have been poetic!