£90 parking charge at popular local shopping centre
Councillors
from all sides of the political spectrum on Oldland Parish Council were shocked
-
Martin Farmer at Gallagher Retail Park, Longwell Green
and angry when they heard that parking charges of £90 are proposed at the
popular Gallagher Retail Park at Longwell Green.
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Gallagher
Retail Park hosts well known shops such as Marks & Spencer, Next and Boots. It has employed ParkingEye Ltd to run the car
parks who are proposing to install both automatic number plate recognition
cameras and charge customers £90 if they are parked in the car park for longer
than just 3 hours.
Labour
Councillors on Oldland Parish Council have publically voiced their concerns "a
number of Customers using Gallagher shopping centre, park there then walk to
adjacent superstores such as Asda and B&Q, and vice versa" said Labour
Councillor Martin Farmer. He added "if a
3 hour limit is to be imposed then customers are going to have to move their
cars the short distance to adjoining car parks or even park on the road. This doesn't make sense. We're also concerned that a 3 hour parking
limit will mean increased chaos on local roads, pushing customers to other
shopping centres which in turn will hit the Oldland Parish area negatively in
terms of the local economy and jobs".
Fellow
Labour Councillor Ron Hardie went on to say "With the recession, families are being
hurt hard in their pockets. This has
been poorly thought out by Gallaghers.
The proposal for a £90 parking charge has little to do with management
of car parks, but is business trying to squeeze more money from hard hit
families. Christmas may be months away
but it looks like Scrooge has come early.
There needs to be a significant re-think by Gallaghers and ParkingEye".
Comments
by Salmay
Wednesday, November 21 2012, 9:57PM
“£150 actually. I've received a fine notice for parking here for 11 minutes beyond the 'max' stay: £13.63 per minute. I will go to jail before I pay this.
There are well over a dozen shops here. Would the retailers here prefer that we don't browse and spend or that we shop elsewhere for high-value considered purchases that take time? How short sighted at a time when the every shop on the high street is struggling to stay afloat. It's ironic that Comet, one of the major retailers here, has gone bust since this draconian measure was taken.”
by A_Mushroom
Wednesday, September 12 2012, 9:20PM
“These fines are totally unenforceable. You won't get clamped as that costs them money. They just churn out tickets based on automatic number plate recognition cameras. There is loads of web-based advice on what to do if they send you a demand. Don't fall for the threats of legal action. That too costs them money and they know they can't win if it goes to court. They just thrive off the vulnerable who pay up without a fight, having used their bully-boy tactics to scare.
The Council should be ashamed. Challenge your Councillor to get it changed.”
by lilmizz74
Wednesday, September 12 2012, 5:43PM
“There's already a time limit on the car park!!!”
by CurtisHewitt
Wednesday, September 12 2012, 2:47PM
“If I ever found myself parking at Gallagher Retail Park for over 3 hours I'd take a long hard look at myself.”
by Spiggett
Wednesday, September 12 2012, 2:20PM
“""fees" or "fines" levied by private parking companies are not legally enforceable"
-Doesn't help if Cowboy Clampers remove your car and charge a Mafia Ransom to get it back!”
by P_J_B
Wednesday, September 12 2012, 11:59AM
“There isn't enough shops at Gallagher Retail Park to justify a 3 hour parking requirement, and if you then go to another shopping complex (B&Q or Asda) then drive to their car parks that they provide - that is what the roads are for1
However saying that the "fees" or "fines" levied by private parking companies are not legally enforceable anyway so you can just ignore any demands from them - "They make them look official and scary but are not legally worth the paper they are written on".”
by Jonnyfandango
Wednesday, September 12 2012, 11:16AM
“They are running a business and can do what they like. You can't park for free in a city centre, what makes them so special? Plus they get the first three hours free anyway. Get on with it.
If the councillors really want something meaty to get their hands into, complain about hospital parking, that is the real scandal.”