Council staff have been hit with fines from their own employer after parking in a restricted area at Trent Bridge during the cricket.
Temporary parking bans were put in place on Friday at Nottinghamshire County Council’s Trent House office block, ahead of the One Day International between England and Pakistan on Tuesday2. But 12 staff, who usually park in the bays for free, returned to their cars in the afternoon to find they had been hit with a 70 fine.
Read more: No better place than Trent Bridge to break record says Alex Hales3
Admin assistant Megan Johnson, 24, said: “I’m absolutely furious. I’m adamant that this morning the signs only said Monday and Tuesday.
“They told us it would be OK to park here. That’s what is making me so angry. I’m going to appeal this. It’s outrageous.”
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Peter Jones, a development officer, 40, said: “There’s no way I’m paying this. I can’t even tell you how angry I am right now.
“There were no restrictions4 when I checked this morning and there were definitely no barriers in place.” Chris Hill, 45, was another driver hit by the fine. “I can’t believe it,” he said. “I asked the guy putting out the cones in the morning and he said it was OK to park here.
Read more: Nottingham residents now banned from using Notts recycling centres5
“The signs simply say ”no loading” and don’t mention anything about parking. I think we’ve all been had.
“I even work at the council myself and they’re ticketing us but I suppose I should have known better.”
The signs with ‘no loading’ and a blue circle with red strip were rolled out earlier this week but parking barriers and cones were only added on Friday – when restrictions come in force. In one half of the street, thirteen bays were left free while a further 12 in the second half of the road were cordoned off with metal fences. Council workers6 arrived for work in the morning and parked in the spaces.
Read more: Engineering difficulties mean extension to roadworks and more delays for drivers in Arnold7
But just before lunch a warden strolled along slapping yellow PCNs on the windscreen of each car. Twelve drivers are believed to have been caught within just five minutes – netting the council a potential total of 840 or 420 if each motorist pays in under 14 days. But Peter Goode, traffic manager at Via East Midlands, which is managing highways services on behalf of Nottinghamshire County Council8, said staff had been told about the restrictions.
“It’s not uncommon for extra parking restrictions to be in place in the streets around Trent Bridge for big international matches during the cricket season, which staff and local residents are used to,” he said. “These restrictions were well advertised in advance, with signage in place at least two weeks before they came into force, an email to employees and a letter to local homes.
Plenty of alternative parking is available for staff in the area.
“The restrictions are required, at the request of match organisers, to allow for the additional infrastructure, security checks and access by media vehicles, teams and officials needed on the run-up to and during big match days.
Enforcement was carried out several hours after the start of the restrictions coming into place, to provide drivers with the opportunity to move their vehicles to vacate the spaces
Mr Goode added: “Any vehicle which breaches restrictions, regardless of who it belongs to, is liable to a Penalty Charge Notice.
If drivers consider that the notice was issued incorrectly they may challenge it, stating the reasons why they consider this to have been issued in error.”
References
- ^ Comments (1) (www.nottinghampost.com)
- ^ One Day International between England and Pakistan on Tuesday (www.nottinghampost.com)
- ^ No better place than Trent Bridge to break record says Alex Hales (www.nottinghampost.com)
- ^ restrictions (www.nottinghampost.com)
- ^ Nottingham residents now banned from using Notts recycling centres (www.nottinghampost.com)
- ^ Council workers (www.nottinghampost.com)
- ^ Engineering difficulties mean extension to roadworks and more delays for drivers in Arnold (www.nottinghampost.com)
- ^ Nottinghamshire County Council (www.nottinghampost.com)