Councillor Hits Out At Havering Council Traffic And Parking Department After Being Issued Five Tickets Despite Being Parked Legally.

Councillor Judith Holt has called on the Traffic and Parking Department at Havering Council to ensure that its enforcement officers are being sent out on to the streets with the most up-to-date and accurate data on their systems. 

The St. Alban’s Ward Conservative Councillor’s request has arisen from her being given wrongful parking tickets on five different occasions during last few months – when each time she was parked legally. She is concerned that if her car has been penalised wrongfully, so might those of local residents and business people.

“As a Ward Councillor, I pay for an annual parking permit, which allows me to park without further charge in pay-and-display and resident parking bays when at work in St. Alban’s Ward,” said Councillor Holt. “Nonetheless, I have been given five PCNs in the last six months whilst legally parked: two in King Edward Road and one in Regarth Avenue, Romford; plus two in Craigdale Road, Hornchurch. When I challenged one traffic warden, he said my data ‘wasn’t on his system’. I appealed each ticket – a process which takes the best part of half-an-hour – enclosing a link to my MiPermit account which showed I did, indeed, have a valid permit. Despite this, two of my appeals were refused – even though another in the same parking bay had been allowed!”

“Earlier this year, there were incidences of PCNs being given to vehicles parked on the aprons of industrial units on Bridge Close – because the traffic thought the land might be Council-owned, not private. If they’ re not sure, why are they issuing tickets? For a number of years, I have been campaigning for fair parking in both the Romford and Hornchurch parts of my Ward, and I will carry on doing so.”

Councillor Holt wrote personally to the head of Traffic and Parking at Havering Council, to ask that it be ensured that enforcement officers have the correct and complete MiPermit and Ringo data on their systems, plus that it be used consistently. She has been assured this will now happen. “It’s bad enough that the HRA-run Council has stopped the 50% discount on unsuccessful PCN appeals, but to be sending out enforcement officers with wrong data is simply inefficient and unjust on my residents and businesses.”

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