Shoppers at Weston Favell Centre told parking tickets will be refunded
SHOPPERS at the Weston Favell Centre who have been issued parking tickets after being snapped by the centre’s new CCTV cameras, have been told the fines will be cancelled if they can prove they were shopping at the mall.
At the end of November, CCTV cameras were installed to make sure people were not staying longer than the centre’s four-hour free parking limit.
The cameras automatically snap car registrations as they enter the centre and if the car is not seen driving back out within four hours, a fine is automatically posted to the driver.
Shopper Sarah Gates, from Spinney Hill, said she thought the fines, which start at £50 but rise to £75 if they are not paid within 28 days, were too high.
She said: “I went shopping with my friend and she got a ticket after we’d been into Tesco and a few other shops.
“Four hours is a really short time for a massive place like Weston Favell and I think a lot of people are going to get caught out.”
Other shoppers commenting on Facebook labelled the fines ‘disgusting’.
But the centre said the time limit had to be enforced to prevent people parking there then catching buses into town. A spokesman for the centre said: “We have four hours’ free parking and after that people are automatically issued with a ticket. We’ve got notices everywhere specifying that.
“But if customers are genuinely here for more than four hours, and they can produce the receipts to prove it, we can waive the tickets.”
The cameras which have been installed by the centre use an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system, similar to that used by police forces across the country to catch speeding drivers.
The centre’s spokesman said: “We’ve had to install this technology because people were taking advantage of the free parking we offer.”
If people are shopping at the centre for more than four hours and fear they are going to get a ticket, they can contact the centre’s managers and show them their receipts. Their car registration details will then be taken off the automatic ticketing system.
Shoppers who have been sent a ticket in the post can either call back to the centre to show their receipts to the centre’s management or call them on Northampton 411521.
The shopping centre contains a Tesco supermarket which is open 24 hours from Monday to Friday, until 10pm on Saturdays and until 4pm on Sundays.
The rest of the centre is open from 9am until 5.30pm from Monday to Saturday and from 10am to 4pm on Sundays.
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Comments
There are 30 comments to this article
Page 1 of 2
NN3man
Saturday, December 24, 2011 at 11:34 AMFour hours at WESTON FAVELL??!! PMSL!! Tesco and Natwest is all I use it for and very convenient it is too! I had never thought have using it as a park and ride!!! Good idea though! Very innovative! I did onvce use it for the Forum cinema instead of shopping theree, guess I won't be doing that again!
seedee
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 02:03 PMAmbulances used to park in the Focus car park while on area standby in the middle of the night but had to stop doing so because they were issued with parking tickets !!
Finker
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 08:31 AMAnyone who can happily spend over four hours there shopping worries me slightly.
ThatsMyOpinionOfCourse
Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at 10:22 PMthe rules havent changed, its always been a max of 4 hours parking, i agree, i also go there often, normal shops and food shops and am never there for 4 hours - theres not enough to do there - they do it so that people who want to shop can and so that people who want to go to town dont use it as a park and ride. i bet almost everyone who gets a fine has wandered off somewhere else.
Removed by moderator
Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at 03:07 AMThen everyone should stay away. They willl soon get the message.
Chronic Les Ingles
Tuesday, December 20, 2011 at 10:44 PMI have been using WFC for years. You must be really sad to spend 4 hours in there. Especially if you are a regular. Can a contributor who spends that amount of time in there post a comment as to what they actually did for four hours.
artbox
Tuesday, December 20, 2011 at 10:05 PMbest thing don;t go to weston favell then see what happens in a month
mack80
Tuesday, December 20, 2011 at 05:22 PMWonder if the travellers were issued with parking tickets when they took over the Focus car park
mickjack
Tuesday, December 20, 2011 at 04:23 PMI wonder if the Travellers that were parked up in Focus car park,were given parking fines,?
Finker
Tuesday, December 20, 2011 at 02:13 PMthanks for the article old townie, although it seems to confirm 'fair' tickets on private land can be enforced but only after they take you to court. As long as the court doesn't find the fine was fair and then award costs for pursuing you then you will be ok. Do suggest people read it though, very enlightening.
old townie
Tuesday, December 20, 2011 at 01:46 PMhttp:www.moneysavingexpert.comreclaimprivate-parking-tickets
old townie
Tuesday, December 20, 2011 at 01:45 PMLinks is right ,Fruitcake is wrong
grumpyoldman
Tuesday, December 20, 2011 at 01:42 PMexpect it is the same company that gave sacred heart church goers tickets because they did not use the centre.
lady muck
Tuesday, December 20, 2011 at 01:16 PMI think that Fruitcake and Chrispy1 may well be correct, but of course, many private parking 'offences' are dealt with by clamping....not much option in those circumstances to refuse to pay.
lady muck
Tuesday, December 20, 2011 at 01:15 PMSurely the right thing is to encourage more bus use and car-sharing. This can only be done if a free car-park is provided.
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