A Berkshire musician has become the latest victim of the unclear parking regime that has plagued Wokingham town centre for several months.
Singer/songwriter Steve Morano, who is based in Caversham, was performing a set at Sit and Sip in Peach Place on Sunday afternoon.
He parked his vehicle in Rose Street car park, adjacent to the Bradbury Centre and Peach Place. No signs were present in the area although he subsequently noticed two poles that may have once contained a parking notice.
When returning to his car, he has been issued with a penalty charge notice (PCN) of £50 which will be reduced to £25 if paid within 14 days.
He said he wanted to make others aware of his experiences in Wokingham so they don’t fall victim.
Steve immediately took to social media to highlight his experience. He confirmed Wokingham Borough Council had been in touch with details of how to appeal against his parking ticket.
He told Wokingham Today: “I’m not a regular visitor to Wokingham and there was no indication I needed to pay for parking in the area I chose.
“I just want to highlight what happened to me so others aren’t put in the same situation.”
Wokingham Today visited the car park on both Tuesday and Wednesday morning, and confirmed no signs were present in the area where Steve had parked.
He is not the only person who has been caught out by the change in parking fees.
Social media groups are full of comments from people who have received parking tickets since the new charges have come in.
Many have been caught out by the new time zones, with charges applicable from 6pm to 10pm.
Mobile payment firm Ringo was not correctly set up, so people parking after 5pm and staying after 6pm were receiving tickets.
Wokingham Borough Council has said the issues with the app have been resolved, but last Thursday evening it was not possible to use the Ringo app to register a vehicle in the council’s Shute End car park after 6pm.
Last week, we revealed customers of The Rose Inn can receive a refund for up to three hours of parking on a Sunday, in a bid to help customers enjoy their roast dinners.
Readers commenting on our story were worried the council’s new parking fees ‘were killing the town’s small busineses’ and discouraging shoppers.
The Purple Butterfly, which has stores in Denmark Street and Marlow, said the free parking in Marlow meant they opened there on Sunday.
“The Town Council has made a massive error of judgment, unless of course, their real intention is to reduce the car park usage so much that they can justify developing them into flats,” the owner wrote.
A spokesperson for Wokingham Borough Council told Wokingham Today: “The car park on Rose Street is one car park with one entrance. One of the signs has been vandalised so has been removed and a replacement is on order, however, there are other signs within the car park advising parking rules and fees.
“If anyone should wish to challenge a PCN they have received, they can visit our website and search ‘PCN’.”
