Who gets this small fee?

On Saturday morning last I took my car into the '˜Magistrates' car park in Lewes.

Despite it being a Farmers’ Market day I was surprised to see a number of vacant places.

Both coin activated ticket machines were hooded with a notice (courtesy of the County Council) to the effect that parking was only available on booking by mobile phone.

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One was advised that the use of this “service” was subject to a small? - 20p? - “charge”. Two words which are hardly consistent.

Unfortunately, I am very hard of hearing and cannot use a mobile phone, possibly there are others who are in the same situation as me, perhaps don’t own a phone or had even left it at home, hence the spaces.

A very kind lady offered to help me and after booking her own car found that it was not possible for her to pay for two cars – why ever not?

At this point, after thanking her for her help, I left with a somewhat elevated increase in blood pressure, found a slot on School Hill and to add insult to injury had to pay £1 for 30 minutes parking.

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It would seem reasonable to me that at if your “service” – the provision of parking meters – was at fault, you should not penalise users but provide free parking.

I am, also, interested in who gets the small fee. Is it he purveyors of parking, the mobile phone company or whatever?

It is, of course, a not very subtle way of increasing parking charges.

Presumably, this experience was a prelude to the employment of internet activated parking which will make much of Lewes of little use to people, like me, who cannot use or have no mobile phone.

One final point, I did no shopping in the town on Saturday morning, as a result of this.

Colin Francis Arlett

Settlands Wellgreen Lane

Kingston

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