Volunteers at a clothes bank in Newport say they might have to close in the coming weeks because the council keeps fining them for parking outside the building. The team at the Ukrainian refugee clothes bank in the Kingsway shopping centre in the city explained how they began being booked around a month ago for parking in the car park behind the premises to unload in the mornings and pack up in the afternoons.
Clothes bank organiser Helen Oliver says she has parked in the Kear Court courtyard area behind the clothes bank in the city centre since April, and was stunned when the council warned her and her fellow volunteers over parking there in November. The volunteers initially decided to ignore posters that had been placed in the courtyard warning against parking there, believing they wouldn’t be booked due to them volunteering for a good cause, but then they started receiving fines.
They then started parking away from the premises in the day, but parked outside for a short while in the mornings and afternoons to unpack and pack their cars. But they said even then they were being fined.
Helen and the other volunteers have now racked up hundreds of pounds in fines in a matter of days. They are trying to contest the fines and are currently paying for parking in the Kingsway car park, costing them £6 each a day and meaning they have to transport clothes from the car park down to the premises. So far all of their appeals have been rejected.
Helen says the situation has become so difficult that she has informed the council that she requires a quick decision on whether they will continue to be fined so she can make a decision on whether the clothes bank is viable for them. “I even asked for a permit because permit holders can park outside and the spaces are always free, but the council told me no I couldn’t apply for a permit,” Helen explained.
“One of our volunteers sent letters off to the top dogs at the council a couple of weeks ago but we’ve had no-one get in touch since. They just don’t seem interested. I’m really upset about it because we have done a lot for the council by being here.”
Since April the store has clothed hundreds of Ukrainians staying at nearby welcome centres who have arrived in Ukraine through the Welsh Government’s super sponsor scheme, as well as Ukrainians staying with host sponsors. As well as clothes they have provided toys and toiletries.
“We’re still getting more and more new people coming into the shop every day,” Helen explained. “I am concerned we won't be able to help them anymore because it isn’t sustainable. How can we keep paying £6 a day when we aren’t earning any money by being here? We came here to do a good deed and help as many people as we could while we were needed.
“I cannot do it if it carries on, it’s not sustainable. I’ve explained to them I need a quick decision because if this continues I might need to come up with an urgent plan to shut.”
Helen says one of the refugees who turned up to take a television from the bank was also booked. “How could she possibly take that television all the way up to the car park?” Helen said. “It’s just ridiculous.”
Another volunteer said: “In the morning I can’t park in the back, walk around the front and get the key, open up, and open up the back, because they’ll book me in that time. So we have to make sure we both get here together. Since they put the signs up the wardens have been around the back all the time. It’s a lot when we’re volunteers and are not being paid to be here."
The volunteers in the store are not the only people to be fined. Traders also say they have been fined for parking outside their shops in Kear Court. Jason Young, who owns Eazability scooters and repair shop in the Kingsway, said he’s been booked three times in the last month. He’s paid £200 in fines as a result.
Jason explained how he had always parked there since he opened the store. “There are about 20 spaces out there that are always vacant,” Jason said. “I’ve enquired about paying for a space. They said it’s £1,000 a year.”
Newport council has been contacted for comment.
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