Parking fines pass the £500,000 mark

Burnley News
Wednesday 18th January 2006
by Dominic Wiggan

MOTORISTS have coughed up more than half a million pounds in fines in the 16 months that Parkwise wardens have patrolled the streets of Burnley.

Since the controversial scheme began in September 2004 – following the de-criminalisation of parking – about 25,000 tickets have been slapped on drivers' windscreens in the borough.

This means that £520,450.97 has found its way to the coffers of Lancashire County Council and Burnley Borough Council.

And ticket numbers could soon increase as a stretch of road in Burnley town centre that was free from the wrath of parking attendants could soon lose its exempt status.

In September, the Express featured a battle between motorist Mr Nigel Crosby and the borough council, which resulted in a campaign by the driver to have the parking ticket he was issued in the street in question, quashed.

His successful argument was that the stretch of road had been omitted from the Traffic Regulation Orders 1999 to 2005.

Council bosses have recently applied to amend the order and include Bankfield, however Mr Crosby confirmed that avenues of objections will still be investigated.A council spokesman said: "The process is under way to include the short stretch of Bankfield that is not currently covered by the Traffic Regulation Order, which already applies to the rest of Bankfield.

"As part of that process we will advertise the TRO in the local media on Friday, January 20th.
"Providing there are no objections, the TRO will be confirmed towards the end of March and it will then become illegal in all of Bankfield.
"If there are objections the matter will have to go before a council committee."

Figures show that £4,170-worth of refunds have been paid out for tickets issued in Bankfield alone – 133 at £30 and two at £90. However, many more motorists are still to make their claim as there were a reported 800 tickets issued before the embargo was set.

The spokesman added: "Until the order is confirmed, Parkwise attendants will not issue tickets to vehicles parked on the stretch of Bankfield between Standish Street and Curzon Street, but only on the Standish Street side of the road."Traffic regulations still apply on the rest of Bankfield."