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Scotsman
02-07-2025
- Automotive
- Scotsman
Skye parking: Scottish tourist hotspots see number of parking fines more than double in 5 years
Tourist hotspots had some of the highest numbers of parking fines issued. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The number of parking fines issued has more than doubled across Skye in the past five years, Highland Council statistics show. During an Isle of Skye and Raasay committee meeting on Monday, figures were revealed that revealed traffic wardens issued fines worth more than £400,000 last year - many at popular tourist spots. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A total of 7011 parking penalties were issued in 2024 - more than double the 2784 issued in 2020. Poor parking has been a long-standing problem on Skye. The purpose of Monday's meeting was to update members on income generated from parking in council car parks in their wards. Fines totalling £430,000 were issued in the most recent financial year - April 2024 to March 2025. Tourist hotspots in particular, including at The Storr, had some of the highest numbers. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Parking has been a constant problem on Skye. | Peter Summers/Getty Image Between April 2024 and March of this year, 1346 PCNs were issued at Bayfield (West) car park in Portree. This totalled £81,850. Meanwhile, at Somerled Square car park in Portree, 1125 PCNs were issued totalling £69,500. At the famous Fairy Pools, 184 notices with a total value of £10,250 for roadside parking were given out. At a car park at The Storr 948 PCNs totalling £56,350 were issued. Why is a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) issued and how much are the fines? There are a range of reasons why someone may receive a PCN. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad This includes parking on a pavement, not having a valid parking ticket, exceeding time limits in a parking pay and parking in a disabled space without a valid Blue Badge. They can be issued at an initial amount of £50, with a reduced rate of £25 if paid within 14 days. However it can also rise to £150, plus a sheriff officer's charge, if not paid after 70 days. People have the right to challenge a PCN. A report to the Isle of Skye and Raasay committee said on average 70 per cent of parking debts were collected. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Parking at Quiraing in Skye. | Getty Images A council spokesperson told The Scotsman that there were a number of factors that have contributed to the rise of PCNs issued on Skye. They said this includes an increase in the regulated parking areas, an increase in parking restrictions and no waiting restrictions in key locations to prevent routes being obstructed and an increase in the number of Parking Enforcement Officers. Highland Council say key visitor locations generate high PCN numbers 'A number of areas that generate high PCN numbers are around key visitor locations, and it is likely that a significant proportion of the PCNs issued on Skye are to visitors at these locations,' the spokesperson added. 'Parking rule breaking is a concern and the seriousness of this can depend on the area and frequency. 'In many areas, it can cause safety issues, block traffic, and create challenging situations for pedestrians and drivers.'
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
More than 4,600 bus gate fines issued to drivers
A council has been issuing around 100 fines a day on average to drivers for illegally using a bus gate. The Mill Road bridge bus gate in Cambridge was introduced on 11 March, banning vehicles except for buses, emergency services, taxis and blue badge holders' registered vehicles. A Freedom of Information request submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service shows more than 4,600 fines were issued in its first seven weeks. Councillor Alex Beckett, chair of Cambridgeshire County Council's highways and transport committee, said "nobody wants to fine people" but that the restrictions made Mill Road a "more enjoyable, safer place to visit". He said: "Mill Road is the centre of a community. We want it to be a more enjoyable, safer place to visit and to encourage more people to come into the area. "Reducing motorised through traffic and installing the bus gate will help achieve this." Anyone driving illegally through the bus gate can be issued with a Penalty Charge Notice of £70, discounted to £35 if paid within 21 days. Although fines were due to begin on March 11, enforcement was suspended for two days due to emergency work to fix a burst water main in the area, with fines starting on March 13. In the first seven weeks of the bus gate being fully operational, 4,677 fines were issued to drivers who breached the restrictions. In the first full week of its operation, commencing March 16, there were 857 fines issued. The highest number of fines issued in one week was in the week commencing March 30, when 887 fines were issued to drivers. Cambridgeshire County Council agreed last year to issue a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) to install a bus gate on the bridge. This was the second time the authority agreed to issue a TRO after the first was quashed following a legal challenge. The restrictions created under the TRO closed the bridge to all motor vehicles. There were exemptions for local buses, taxis, emergency services, blue badge holders registered vehicles, vehicles in a disabled tax class, and vehicles on the council's permitted vehicles list. Those who fit into one of the categories still have to apply to the county council for a bus gate exemption. Pedestrians and cyclists were also still allowed to continue to cross the bridge. The county council put in place a formal warning period at the start of the year, issuing warning PCNs to drivers who breached the bus gate restrictions, but not actual fines. Signs were also put up at the bridge to warn drivers about the new restrictions. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Drivers face bus gate fines from Thursday Burst water main delays fines for using bus gate Warning period begins for bus gate flouters Cambridgeshire County Council
Irish Independent
02-06-2025
- Irish Independent
Wexford motorists urged to slow down as static speed camera positioned on N25 commute
Motorists commuting between Wexford and Waterford will notice the camera in place from Friday, May 30 and vehicles detected driving in excess of the posted speed limit will be subject to prosecution from 12 p.m.. Prosecution of speeding offences takes place by Fixed Charge Notice (FCN), which is a fine of €160, accompanied by 3 penalty points. The static camera will be positioned on the national road in Ballynamona, South Kilkenny, which is the Waterford City Bypass road. Meanwhile, at the other side of the Luffanny roundabout, from the Rhu Glen to the Glenmore roundabout, locals are calling upon the relevant authorities to address the lack of safety measures in place along the 10 km N25 stretch. A public meeting is due to be held in the Rhu Glen on June, 16 at 8 p.m.
Daily Mail
24-04-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE 'Greedy' firm tried to fine me £200 for not paying for parking within FIVE minutes… I fought them for two years and finally won - here's how
A parking firm that tried to get £200 out of a motorist after she took more than five minutes to pay for her spot has been left empty handed - after years of fighting. Angela Haley, 64, had decided against stopping in her usual Derby car park and instead chose to station her car elsewhere after entering from a different route. Initially she had issues paying due to the machine being out of service on May 4, 2023, but she eventually managed to pay the £3.20 due over the phone before heading into the city for a couple hours of shopping. Having followed Excel Parking's guidelines she believed all was well, until a PCN (Parking Charge Notice) came through her letter box five months later accusing her of parking without payment. Steadfast Ms Haley appealed the fine, providing proof including confirmation texts, phone calls to the company, as well as a bank account statement showing she made the payment that day. However, the parking firm denied her request. She then continued to fight against the ticket via the Independent Appeals Service (IAS), described as 'an alternative dispute resolution service' for tickets handed out by private firms, adamant she had paid the ticket. Ms Haley continued to show her payments receipts to both IAS and Elms Legal, who previously represented the parking firm, but then the reason for the fine emerged - she had not paid within a five minute window. She told MailOnline: 'I was in a bit of disbelief, I thought well, I know I would never not pay for parking. It's just not something I'd do. 'I kept getting letters from them, and I said look here's my bank statement. 'I didn't have a physical ticket because the normal routes of payment, which would have been just to tap my debit card, wasn't an option on the day.' 'I kept getting legal letters, and then when I found the receipt on my phone, and emailed them a copy, they said, "Oh, no, that they still want to pursue". 'But now then it was because they claimed I didn't pay within their time period, and I just said, I'm not paying. I've paid once I've. I'm not paying again.' She added: 'It stressed me out to the point where every time any sort of official envelope addressed to me came through the door. 'But I was also going to fight tooth and nail - I was determined I wasn't paying it. There was no way I was backing down from this.' The legal firm then offered her a reduced fine to around £200, whilst also giving her the option to pay in monthly instalments of £17. 'I didn't even realise it was that much anyway, so they could offer me whatever they liked. I wasn't not paying it,' she added. 'I just kept writing every time I got a threatening letter I just wrote back and said, "Don't write to me anymore. Just take me to court".' Eventually a small claims court date was set in Sheffield, around 75 miles away from Ms Haley's home. This combined with clashing events meant she could not attend in person. However she did send her court bundle, which included an overwhelming amount of documents showing her innocence, and eventually emerged victorious. And after a year of battling Excel Parking sent a letter to confrim they were discontinuing the claim. 'You only have to look at Trustpilot and Google Reviews to realise how many people this company is pursuing for fines,' Ms Haley said. 'I'm lucky because I'm retired. So I've got loads of time in my hands. 'But I think if I'd have been still working and I used to have a stressful job, I'd have just paid it because I'd have been so stressed out. 'I think that's what a lot of people do They terrorise people into thinking they have to pay this money. She added: I could have afforded to pay it, it was never about the money it was about the principle. 'It was the fact that I was able to prove that their paperwork was not relevant to the date I parked that was what really keeping me going.' Recalling the moment she received the letter from the firm, notifying her they were dropping the issue, she said: 'Obviously I was relieved. But there's no we do apologise for any upset or inconvenience.' 'I do feel terrible for those people who may be in be in a different financial position, or more frightened, people could have a nervous breakdown,' she added. A representative from Excel Parking Services said: 'ELMS Legal Ltd were instructed following the rejection of the Defendant's appeal by the Independent Appeals Service and in accordance with the terms and conditions in effect at the site at the time of the contravention. 'Any further details regarding the instruction of the claim and/or its discontinuance are subject to legal privilege.] A spokesperson from Elms Legal said: 'ELMS Legal Ltd were instructed by the Claimant following the rejection of the Defendant's appeal by the Independent Appeals Service and in accordance with the terms and conditions in effect at the site at the time of the contravention. 'Any further details regarding the instruction of the claim and/or its discontinuance are subject to legal privilege.'
Daily Mail
23-04-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I was fined £100 for buying the wrong parking ticket but I couldn't understand the machine because it was in Welsh
A woman has been served a £100 charge by a parking firm – even though she says the ticket machine was in Welsh and she could not change the language settings. Freelance journalist Claire Hannah, 53, of Wigan, Greater Manchester, said her 'lovely' day trip to Betws-y-Coed, north Wales, turned into a nightmare. She visited the picturesque village in the Snowdonia National Park with her sister on March 9. The 53-year-old told MailOnline: 'It's very pretty, beautiful place. Parked in a lovely car park outside a lovely church. 'Went to the machine – spent quite a while faffing around with the machine trying to get a ticket because I couldn't understand it because it was in Welsh and it wasn't working properly, didn't appear to be able to change the language or anything like that. 'So, I just bought a ticket, displayed it on my windscreen and we went off, trotting around Betws-y-Coed, up the river, went in the pub, went to the local shops, this, that and the other. Came back to the car, went home – and it was a lovely day.' But about 10 days later, on March 18, her fond memories of her Welsh day out came crashing down when she received a Parking Charge Notice (PCN) from the firm that manages the site. Initial Parking charged her £100, on a 28-day deadline, for not paying for her time in the car park. After she provided evidence she bought a ticket, it was reduced to £20 – but this time for not keying in her registration number correctly. Initial Parking charged her £100, on a 28-day deadline, for not paying for her time in the car park. After she provided evidence she bought a ticket (pictured), it was reduced to £20 – but this time for not keying in her registration number correctly Miss Hannah did not even know drivers had to enter their registration number – and even on the photo of the machine Initial Parking itself sent her, there is no visible field to do this. She said: 'I didn't know what I'd done wrong because as far as I was concerned, I had a ticket displayed on my dashboard. 'I didn't have a clue. You think if you've got a ticket displayed on your dashboard? Fine.' The initial notice Miss Hannah received said the £100 charge would be reduced to £60 – 'this amazing discount, this really kind discount', Miss Hannah joked – if she paid within 14 days. She appealed on the grounds she knew she had bought a ticket – and the money had come out of her bank account for that, the evidence for both of which she sent to the firm. But this appeal was rejected just two days later – but now, on the basis she had wrongly keyed her registration number into the machine. She did not know she even had to enter this, due to the machine being in Welsh, along with the fact she did not see any signs instructing her to do so. The charge was then reduced to £20 to penalise her for a 'major keying error' instead. The initial notice Miss Hannah received (pictured) said the £100 charge would be reduced to £60 – 'this amazing discount, this really kind discount', Miss Hannah joked – if she paid within 14 days She ended up just paying the £20 charge – five times the original parking charge of £4 – so that the whole ordeal would be over: 'I'm annoyed at myself for paying it.' 'For me, when it got to £20, it wasn't about the money, it was just the principle of it. Because I paid for a ticket and they were threatening with a debt recovery agency if I don't pay', she said – with such threats mentioned across several communications seen by MailOnline. Miss Hannah was not the only one struggling with the ticket machine that day: 'There were a few people faffing about with it. I'd love to know how many other people got tickets that day. 'It wouldn't go from Welsh to English. So, I was actually quite proud of myself when the ticket came out, proud because I'd got a ticket in the Welsh language! 'I thought, "I don't understand it but I still got a ticket! Check me out!"' Initial Parking sent her a picture of the ticket machine in the car park in question, to back up their assertion there was a functioning button to press to change the language settings. But this picture is dated from November last year – while Miss Hannah's battles with the machine happened months later. Miss Hannah said: 'There's so many people who would feel threatened with [a letter saying], "£100!" 'And you see this £100 and everybody's skint, aren't they? Then it goes to £60, then it goes to £20, and you think, "Oh, it's only £20". But how many people are saying, "It's only £20"? It's really underhand.' Her parking nightmare has meant she would not now go back to Betws-y-Coed and risk experiencing another similar ordeal. She said: 'If this was the way you treat your locals and visitors, I don't think it's great. We spent money in your local economy.' And she pointed out that on Trustpilot, the firm has only an average of one star, across around 500 reviews: 'It's put a lot of people off going back anywhere.' A spokesperson for Initial Parking told MailOnline: 'Information on how to change the language from Welsh to English is detailed on the machine inserts that are installed on each machine directly to the right of the payment screen – once the motorist presses the "grey flag button", the language will then change to English. 'As clearly stated on the very large BPA (British Parking Association) approved signage which is located next to the payment machines, motorists are required to enter their full, correct vehicle registration when making payment for parking. 'As per the evidence the motorist provided, the registration the motorist made payment for was "Y1" therefore the terms and conditions of the car park were breached. 'Neither of these characters appear in the motorist's vehicle registration as such it was not possible for this payment to be linked with their vehicle, and a parking charge notice was therefore issued correctly. 'Upon receipt of the motorist's appeal, as per the Single Code of Practice, we offered a reduced fee of £20.00 in line with the codes guidance on Major Keying Errors. 'The motorist made payment of the £20.00 and the case is now closed on our system.'
