Drivers' anger over Fareham parking crackdown
A parking blitz has seen hundreds of motorists fined for overstaying their time in council car parks.
Fareham Borough Council has denied it's a money making scheme but some shoppers say they no longer want to spend their cash in the town because of over-zealous wardens.
So far this year 962 drivers have been ticketed in 15 town centre car parks, with the numbers expected to hit almost 1,100 by April.
This is a 39 per cent rise compared with the 788 who were fined for the whole of the previous year.
Shopper Norman Graham from Warsash said: 'We would rather shop anywhere else because of the parking but we didn't have any choice for what we wanted today.
'I know a few people who don't come here for the same reason. They do need to be reasonable about the rates and the way they enforce it but if it's just making more money to pay for another traffic warden, then it's not right.'
David Tanner, 75, from Gosport, was also in town to do some shopping, added: 'You do hesitate to come in because of the parking. They do have a job to do, but they can be a bit over-zealous. They do see it as a good money making exercise.'
Many councils took control of parking enforcement from the police in April 2007 and Fareham now has its own team of 12 dedicated officers.
Fines for overstaying currently stand at 50, but are halved if paid within two weeks.
Running their own car parks has proved to be a moneyspinner for local authorities. In their first full year of operation in 2007/8, Fareham netted 245,413 in off-street parking fines, Havant 199,000, Portsmouth City Council 3,191,246 and Gosport 28,751.
But Councillor Sean Woodward, leader of Fareham council, denied this was a deliberate cash-grab: 'Our ideal would be that we never have to issue a parking ticket.
'People have a right to park for what they have paid for, rather than another person arriving and finding spaces are occupied by someone who has overstayed.
'It is surprising that the figure has jumped so much because it is very clear in all our car parks how long you can stay and what to pay. I can't explain why the figure has increased.'
>> Vote in our latest web poll.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Portsmouth
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 14 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 24 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 15 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: East
