Parking stories in the News/media

Umkomaas

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81979765#Comment_81979765

The vultures are starting to circle! 🦅(well, near enough! 😄)

Nellymoser

https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/news/2026/safer-streets-thanks-city-red-routes

Data shows the Red Routes areas are now a lot safer, less people are being injured, air quality has improved and footfall increased.

Councillor Trevor Muten, Cabinet member for Transport and City Infrastructure, said: “It’s great to see the positive impact the Red Routes are having"

WOW! If these Red Routes are as successful as Brighton-Hove City Council say they are they should implemented everywhere!!!! My goodness even the city’s largest bus operator reported an 85.7% reduction in passenger injury incidents in the Red Routes!!!!

Coupon-mad

The Council and Brighton buses are in each other's pockets.

The worthwhile takeaway from that though, is that £70 is a credible deterrent.

1505grandad

FWIW - gosh they do manual quality checks!!:-

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/this-is-why-you-should-always-check-the-photos-on-a-parking-fine/ar-AA21TMQ4?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=69f0faa7fd6b42deb006373b5fb9b1f3&ei=48

"In an email sent to you after our intervention, a representative told you the error was caused by a single-digit discrepancy in the ANPR camera system that was missed in manual quality checks."

Umkomaas

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81980627#Comment_81980627

“Having looked at the evidence, the charge was issued in error. We have confirmed to him that nothing is owed and that the matter is now fully closed."

Nothing was ever ‘owed’! Cheeky gits!

Nellymoser

UPDATE:

Croydon Council has reduced the size of a notorious yellow box junction on Addiscombe Road near East Croydon station after years of controversy over its enforcement.

The junction, which raked in nearly £2 million in fines over the past decade, was deemed partly illegal by London Tribunals, prompting the council to cut it in half.

https://southlondonnews.co.uk/local/croydon/croydon-council/croydon-cuts-2m-yellow-box-junction-at-east-croydon-2026/

No mention of refunds for the motorists ripped-off.

Coupon-mad

Ex-police officer on mercy dash to Birmingham fined £100 in car park where stay should have been free

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/newsbirmingham/ex-police-officer-on-mercy-dash-to-birmingham-fined-100-in-car-park-where-stay-should-have-been-free/ar-AA21PdA5?ocid=MEDDHP&apiversion=v2&domshim=1&noservercache=1&noservertelemetry=1&batchservertelemetry=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1

“We can’t afford £100. We are living off our pensions at the moment. If I had done something wrong I would put my hands up and pay what’s due.

But if you have done not done anything wrong and gone the extra mile to make sure and are still penalised, that really gets the hair up. I would be happy to spend a day in court.” 

Excel Parking Services Limited was contacted on Monday and on further occasions this week but had yet to respond.

The IPC must be so proud.

Coupon-mad

https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/transport/parking-chaos-erupts-across-west-northamptonshire-as-council-apologises-unreservedly-after-hiking-prices-fining-disabled-drivers-and-starting-infrastructure-work-all-before-legal-paperwork-was-in-place-as-2000-people-sign-8166473

Parking chaos erupts across West Northamptonshire as council apologises ‘unreservedly’ after hiking prices, fining disabled drivers and starting infrastructure work all before legal paperwork was in place as 2,000 people sign protest petition

Reform-led council admits its revised off-street parking charges were launched in error.

West Northamptonshire Council issued a statement on Tuesday April 28 to say it would like to 'sincerely apologise to all residents for an error in charges at its car parks and is acting to address the issues.'

It admitted that it had revised changes to off-street parking, including applying them to blue badge holders, before statutory public consultation – making a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) – had been carried out.

Anyone with a blue badge can now get a full refund and those who paid increased fees will be refunded the difference between the old and new charges.

Any Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) relating to these changes will also be refunded. Stuart Timmiss, Executive Director of Place, Economy and the Environment, said: “We apologise unreservedly to anyone that has been affected by this error. “We know this falls far short of the standards our residents expect from council officers, and how we should be delivering services and I would like to assure them that we are taking swift action to put this right." Before any revised charges are brought back, the council is required by law to carry out a formal public consultation. This includes a minimum 21‑day period during which people can raise objections or comments.

Coupon-mad

This article is only about POPLA, despite the headline:

Record number of parking tickets quashed last year after appeals soared to 107,202 amid growing drivers' anger at 'cowboy' operators

https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15776179/Record-number-parking-tickets-quashed-year-appeals-soared-record-107-202-amid-growing-drivers-anger-cowboy-operators.html

"Figures obtained by the Daily Mail show drivers launched at least 107,202 appeals against tickets issued by scores of private parking firms in 2025.

This was a 40 per cent jump from 76,292 in 2022 and the first time appeals dealt with by an official adjudicator hit six figures.

Staggeringly, half (54,100) were quashed - up from 34,635 in 2022 and another record. Of these, parking firms chose not to contest 40,000 cases."

The DM has clearly just read the latest POPLA Annual report!

Nothing about the IPC / IAS (same thing) not that they publish any worthwhile figures since they were sussed for only upholding 4% of decided appeals.

Shame on both POPLA and the IAS.

Coupon-mad

And shame on ParkingEye:

Cancer patients targeted with parking fines outside Haverfordwest support centre

https://pembrokeshire-herald.com/137333/cancer-patients-targeted-with-parking-fines-outside-haverfordwest-support-centre/

"Local Haverfordwest cancer victims, many of whom are battling their final months of life, are being targeted with unnecessary parking fines.

Vulnerable users, elderly volunteers and charity drivers have paid more than £1,000 after local housing company Ateb introduced camera-controlled parking at the former library car park. But the system means that patients attending the nearby cancer support centre, Adam’s Bucketful of Hope, are being issued with multiple fines, court summonses and even bailiff action.

The problem is further exacerbated by the fact that some of the centre’s older users are unable to use the car park’s card and phone payment system.

Many fines are being served on vehicles which drop patients off at the centre and immediately drive off.

Victims include:

• an 89-year-old volunteer who, despite paying her parking tickets, has received three separate threatening letters
• a courtesy van which was fined £100 for transporting charity equipment to a fundraising event
• a motorist who recently accrued a £200 fine for delivering a patient and returning later that afternoon to pick her up from the centre
• and a Polish van driver who collects the charity’s ragbags for Wilcox Recyclers, who has paid £120.
  

When Ateb purchased the library back in April 2022, the housing company assured the charity that the existing arrangement would be honoured, enabling regular charity volunteers to use their five allocated car parking spaces free of charge.

To date, the centre’s cancer patients and volunteers have spent a total of £1,062 on tickets issued on vehicles using the five designated parking spaces.

“Why should these people have to pay?” said Chris Evans-Thomas, who co-founded the charity with her son Adam, who sadly died of leukaemia at the age of 35.

“We don’t pay when we go to the hospital, we don’t pay at the doctor’s surgery, so why are our patients, many having reached the last months of their lives, being dealt all this stress whenever they visit our support centre?

The parking system is now all on camera, so even if we just drive in to drop somebody off, the driver of the car is fined,” she continued. "We’ve repeatedly asked to meet Ateb face to face in order to discuss the issue, but they’re ghosting us. We’ve been based at this site for almost 20 years and have always operated from the back entrance.

But since Ateb took over the car park, all this has changed and our numbers have seen a steady decline because a lot of our users don’t want to risk using the car park and get a £100 fine, so they’ve stopped attending.”

Wow.

The BPA must be so proud.