Powys crackdown on parking
Parents parking outside schools and people wrongly leaving cars in disabled spaces will be hit with fines in a new crackdown across Powys. Parents parking outside schools and people wrongly leaving cars in disabled spaces will be hit with fines in a new crackdown across Powys. The warning came as Powys County Council took over the management of parking enforcement in the region today. Responsibility for on-street parking and waiting restrictions had previously been managed by Dyfed-Powys Police. Councillor Geraint Hopkins, council board member for local and environmental services, said: "The system aims to improve conditions and safety for drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and people with disabilities, as well as the reliability of public transport." Full story in today's paper
Parents parking outside schools and people wrongly leaving cars in disabled spaces will be hit with fines in a new crackdown across Powys.
The warning came as Powys County Council took over the management of parking enforcement in the region today. Responsibility for on-street parking and waiting restrictions had previously been managed by Dyfed-Powys Police.
Councillor Geraint Hopkins, council board member for local and environmental services, said: "The system aims to improve conditions and safety for drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and people with disabilities, as well as the reliability of public transport.
"It intends to reduce the misuse of disabled parking bays and delays to emergency vehicles.
"We also hope it will help tackle problem parking around schools and residential areas."
Dyfed-Powys Police will no longer be able to issue fines for parking offences, other than dangerous parking and obstructions.
Penalty Charge Notices (PCN) will be £50 or £70, depending on the seriousness of the offence.
A discount of 50 per cent will apply if the penalty is paid within 14 days, reducing the charge to £25 or £35.
Councillor Hopkins said all revenue from on-street penalty charges would be used to fund enforcement and administration. Any surplus would fund local parking and highway and transport improvements.
Chief Inspector Peter Roderick, of Dyfed-Powys Police, said: "We fully support the transfer of parking enforcement powers across to the council as clearly this is the way forward.
"Traditionally, the police have enforced all parking prohibition offences and I'm pleased that we are now able to hand these types of enforcement issues to the appropriate authority.
"We are working very closely with the council to ensure that the required transfer of our police traffic wardens across to the council occurs in a timely and all effective manner.
"It will be sad to see the end of an era with the our traffic wardens booking off duty with us for the last time. However, this represents progress for the county with the obvious benefits that come with the concept of Civil Parking Enforcement."
By Anwen Evans