A tourist has vowed never to return to his holiday destination of 40 years after racking up £760 in parking tickets in 12 days. David Watt said his love of Cornwall had been soured after he was caught out on several occasions.
He said he was made to pay what he said were 'exorbitant, over-the-top fines that do not fit the crime'. He said he was fined after going to a Spar shop to collect newspapers and croissants.
Mr Watt's favourite spot is Polzeath, where he met his wife, and the couple have brought their children up to enjoy the area much as they do. But he said the love affair was - for now - over.
In a long letter to CornwallLive, Mr Watt said: “My feelings about Cornwall and the weeks I spend in the Duchy each year have now all changed thanks to a private parking company called Alliance Parking UK Ltd and their owner Kevin McManus. For as long as I can remember, we have rented houses in Trebetherick, and each morning, as an early riser, I have driven down to the Spar in Polzeath to collect papers and croissants for our guests.
"There used to be free parking spaces outside the Spar in Polzeath but these have now been cordoned off. Now, and when these weren’t free in the past, I parked in the Sea View car park opposite the Spar.
"As each visit was for just a few minutes, and the car park was empty, I confess to not buying a ticket, but had I been staying longer I of course would not have risked a parking ticket and have paid. In all the years I have been doing this I have never received a ticket of any type, because my stays were so brief and so early that parking attendants were not around.
"Was I in the wrong? Probably, but I don’t think that I was committing a serious crime.”
It all changed after automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras were installed by Alliance Parking. Many people have also shared their own tales of how the briefest of stops in car parks turned into threats of legal action and £100 fines.
Mr Watt found out when he received 12 Parking Charge Notices (PCNs) from Alliance Parking for £100, or £60 if he paid within 14 days. He said that three were for his youngest daughter, who is a new driver, and had either not paid or overstayed her parking in Daymer Car Park.
The other nine were for himself and his wife in Sea View Car Park. He also said that on every occasion his own “violations” ranged from six minutes to 12 minutes.
Mr Watt added: “Are we in the wrong? Undoubtedly, that is not in dispute. What is in dispute is the severity of the fines. My 62 minutes and 42 seconds of parking is going to cost me, provided I pay early, £5.80 per minute, or a total of £540.
"In various email exchanges with Alliance Parking I have admitted my guilt and have offered to pay a fee, but I feel that the punishment does not fit the crime. Alliance Parking have declined my offer and require me to pay the full fee.”
Mr Watt added: “My first ticket reference number from July 8 was 399024 and the last one on July 19, 11 days later, was 402516. If you assume that these are effectively invoice numbers for the PCNs, then in that 11 days Alliance Parking issued 3,492 PCNs at, let’s assume, £60 each. That is £209,520 worth of fines in Cornwall across 11 days. Imagine if that was repeated across the whole summer. If the summer holidays run from July 1 until September 10 then Alliance Parking could issue in the region of 25,000 tickets, or £1.5m worth of PCNs.
“Is what Alliance Parking doing wrong? Probably not. Is what they are doing affecting tourism to Cornwall? Very probably. Is what they are doing blatant profiteering? Absolutely definitely.
“The installation of ANPR cameras has enabled them to turn the issuing of parking fines into a well-oiled machine, punishing motorists for even the most minor breaches. What is certain is that having paid the full £760 worth of fines I will not return to Cornwall until Alliance have gone. I admit that I broke the rules and should have read the signs in the car park, but that figure is disgusting. I just cannot comprehend how a Cornishman owning a Cornish Company can be doing so much to drive tourists away."
Cornwall Live approached Alliance Parking for a comment on the points Mr Watt raised in his letter but they are yet to respond.
