DRIVERS in Shinfield are being hit with fines “out of the blue” when parked outside their houses.
Tom Silk said in the last week of September, he was issued two fines a day after each other, when parked outside his house.
He has now been asked to pay two £70 fines by Wokingham Borough Council, and is not the only Shinfield resident to have this happen.
Cllr Jackie Rance, Conservative councillor for Shinfield South said she knows of at least 14 residents who have had parking fines in the last three months.
Mr Silk, who lives on Wheatfields Road, was parked in a layby when a parking attendant slapped a fine on his car.
He said the attendant told him he was more than 50cm away from the curb.
However his car was not obstructing traffic from moving along the main carriageway.
“There’s a process here that’s broken,” he said. “Why is the council asking a parking attendant to come down a residential road.”
Cllr Rance said she has asked the council’s parking team why residential areas are suddenly being monitored in this way.
“I can’t get an answer as to why,” she said. “The parking team don’t answer me.”
Mr Silk said he was told there was a complaint, but he said the car was not parked on the pavement or grass.
“Our neighbours have lived here for more than 30 years and have never had a ticket,” he said. Mr Silk said it “feels like a money-making exercise” by the borough council.
“If I was parked in an NCP in London, I’d get it,” he added.
Mr Silk appealed the tickets, but this was rejected by the borough council.
In a letter of reply, parking enforcement manager, Geoff Hislop, Mr Silk was told: “If you did not get a PCN before, perhaps it was because there were no civil enforcement officers nearby.”
Mr Silk said even if he was legally in the wrong, he feels as though the wrong process has been followed.
“Mr partner called Jackie Rance, and she came around within an hour [of the incident],” Mr Silk said. “She agreed it wasn’t the right approach.
“It’s the principle, they need to look at the bigger picture. There are lots of people [financially] struggling right now. Get your priorities right — this is not a priority.”
Cllr Rance said a lot of residents in and around the Mimosa and Chrysanthemum estate have also been targeted by parking attendants.
However some have had their fines dropped.
Cllr Jim Frewin, independent councillor for Shinfield South said some of the PCNs were dropped when he and Cllr Rance approached the borough council over the issue.
“From what I understand, the council is now applying some common sense to the Mimosa and Chrysanthemum estate,” he said. “Some have had their penalties removed, albeit with a warning.”
The councillor said he is concerned that the “narrow” road layout in the estate is similar to many others areas in Shinfield, and could mean that parkattendantsents fine residents in other areas for similar issues.
Cllr Rance said Mr Silk’s neighbour is now “worried sick” he will get a ticket when parking in the opposite layby.
“There are laws under traffic provision but the whole thing has just come out of the blue,” she said.
“Residents in the Mimosa and Monarch estate have lived there for 12 or more years, and this has just happened in the last three months.”
Cllr Rance said she knew of one couple received a fine each Sunday for three weeks, while parked on their own land.
She said they appealed the PCNs and did not have to pay in the end.
She added that because the complaints system is anonymous, she has no way of knowing who raised the issues to the borough council, and added that she was sceptical whether anyone did.
“I feel this is possibly not the truth,” she said. “The Wheatfields residents park in a layby, so were neither up on the kerb, nor causing an obstruction for other drivers or the bin men.
“These are the residents I represent and I have attempted to contact parking management on their behalf to no avail.
“I feel sorry for the residents because this is where they live,” she added. “They haven’t overstayed their time at a car park, or abandoned it somewhere. This is outside their homes.
“It’s a blight for Shinfield residents.”
A spokesperson for Wokingham Borough Council said: “We are aware of a residential area in Shinfield where several motorists were illegally parking on a raised junction, which is not allowed under the Highway Code. These motorists were parking in the junction and also partially blocking the footway, and so have been issued penalty charge notices. If a driver ignores the notice and continues to park illegally, they will receive more than one notice.
“If a motorist believes they should not have received a parking fine, there is an appeal process on the penalty charge notice and on the parking fine page on our website.
“We receive complaints from residents about parked cars blocking the footway as it makes walking difficult, particularly for the elderly, children and pedestrians with limited mobility. Enforcement officers respond in those locations where complaints are received.
“The council doesn’t target any individual for parking offences, but has an obligation to respond to specific locations when the most vulnerable members of our society raise their concerns over junction safety and obstruction.”
