'Unreasonable' Llangrannog parking fines 'deterring visitors'

"Unreasonable" parking fines are keeping visitors away from a seaside village, a councillor has warned.

A solar-powered ticket machine was installed on private land on Llangrannog's seafront in Ceredigion by One Parking Solutions in April.

But it is frequently out of charge and visitors are often unable to pay online or by text because of poor phone signal and wi-fi, Councillor Gwyn James said.

The company said to avoid a fine visitors should either pay or leave.

Mr James said visitors were being fined £100 for staying in the car park for 10 minutes without paying.

"I've received many complaints since the beginning of the summer," he said.

"It's all down to the machine being run on a solar panel. There are too many complaints to count - from England where the holidaymakers we rely on come from, but also from many locals too.

"There is another car park - a free one - which the county council operates but it's 800m away up the hill - and I know some people won't be able to walk the hill. So we need something down in the village."

In April One Parking Solution installed the ticket machine and cameras to recognise number plates of cars as they drive in.

If the machine is out of order car park users have a 10 minute grace period to pay by text, online or calling a number.

Gwenan Jenkins from Lampeter is appealing against a fine she was sent after taking her children to the beach.

She said: "When I went to pay for my ticket the machine wasn't working.

"Within about 20 minutes after keeping an eye on the machine I saw someone else buying a ticket so I ran over to the machine to buy a ticket but by then I was apparently outside the grace period of ten minutes."

She said she received a £100 fine through the post which would be reduced to £60 if paid in 14 days.

"I haven't paid as I'm appealing against the decision," she said.

"Going to Llangrannog is meant to be a pleasurable experience but this has put a real dampener on things. I don't know if I'll be going there again."

Julia Palframan, who owns the Patio Cafe next to the beach, said the issue was having "a very negative impact on the business and on the village as a whole".

"We have a lot of people contacting us by letter and by phone saying they have been fined. It's really not fair to any of us in the village - all we can say to people is, if you're fit enough, park in the free car park up the hill."

Helena Boyesen from Llangrannog Welfare Committee has started to keep a file of letters and complaints related to the car park.

"The small villages on the coast are virtually totally reliant for income and employment on tourism," she said.

"In many of the letters it says 'I shan't be visiting again'.

"Our concerns are that this could have some kind of effect on the economic sustainability of this village."

In a statement One Parking Solutions said: "If a driver disagrees with the clearly displayed terms of parking they have the choice to either leave the car park within the grace period or remain and accept a parking charge.

"Unfortunately some drivers choose to remain on site assuming that it's free parking if they have no change, mobile phone or they can't get a ticket from the onsite machine."

It added the default grace period of 10 minutes was is set out in the British Parking Association code of practice.