'˜Scrooge-like' traffic wardens at Petworth are criticised

Traffic wardens have been criticised for putting tickets on cars at Petworth's Christmas street party.
By The Newsroom
Published 21st Dec 2017, 06:30 BST

This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.

Martyn Streeter and his son Tom demonstrating the heavy equipment they have to load after concertsMartyn Streeter and his son Tom demonstrating the heavy equipment they have to load after concerts
Martyn Streeter and his son Tom demonstrating the heavy equipment they have to load after concerts

Chairman Chris Kemp told town councillors they should register their displeasure at the way the parking enforcement officers behaved: “They ignored cars parked on double yellow lines and picked on people parked sensibly.”

He said one of the town council’s stewards was ticketed for parking in a disabled bay at the Sylvia Beaufoy Centre: “These bays are going to be removed anyway because no-one ever uses them.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Vice chairman Roger Hanauer said: “There is a wide range of philosophy among the parking wardens. One or two of them keep the public on side but others are quite the reverse. They Draconian in their inability to use the rules objectively.” He later added: “Their attitude was Scrooge-like.”

Fellow town councillor David Burden said: “This is almost vindictive.”

The parking spat with Chichester District Council’s (CDC) civil enforcement officers comes after a row in October when Petworth Town Bandmaster Martyn Streeter was issued with a ticket at the bus stop outside The Leconfield Hall while he loaded heavy instruments into his car.

CDC was later caught on camera parking one of its vehicles in exactly the same spot.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“From our point of view we should ask for a level playing field,” said Chris. He said he was due to meet officers of West Sussex County Council and CDC to discuss parking issues: “Hopefully we will get some sense.”

A spokesman for CDC said: “We issued some Penalty Charge Notices (PCN) for vehicles that contravened regulations in the car parks. These were mainly for vehicles parked outside the markings of a bay and as a result, were causing a hazard.

“While blue bays are in place, they are enforceable. If a vehicle has parked in one, a badge must be displayed. A PCN will be issued when it is believed a contravention has taken place. Blue Badge bays are enforced to help ensure they are being used correctly and for disabled customers. Blue Badge holders are permitted to park on double yellow lines. Our civil enforcement officers will issue a PCN where they believe a contravention has taken place. If a member of the public has received a PCN and feels there is information we should consider, they need to challenge it.”

Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on.

1) Make our website your homepage at www.midhurstandpetworth.co.uk/

2) Like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/MidhurstandPetworthObserver

3) Follow us on Twitter @mid_pet_obs

4) Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here.

And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out!

The Midhurst and Petworth Observer - always the first with your local news.

Be part of it.

Related topics:PCNPetworth