Local businessman, Graham Baylis, has written to his MP, Jesse Norman, asking him to consider the problems visitors to local attractions face, in light of the rising number of parking ‘fines’ being issued and the new code of practice which is set to safeguard drivers against bogus private parking firms and clamp down on bad practices.

Mr Baylis said: “It is my view that the best and fairest way to operate a private (or any) car park is to use a system that allows you to pay for the time spent in the car park before exiting. This can be achieved either by providing the user with a ticket upon entry, this being placed into a ‘Pay Station’ when wishing to leave (the amount owed then being calculated) or by the use of ANPR whereby when wishing to leave you simply select your vehicle from the list presented by the Pay Station, pay and leave.

In both instances there is no possibility of the driver paying less than is required and hence no need to raise ‘parking charges’.”

Mr Baylis believes that car park operators prefer to use other systems because they can ‘catch out’ members of the public and hence make many millions of pounds.

He told the Ross Gazette that when he visited the Wye Valley Visitor Centre he purchased a ticket from the machine 11.52, and left at 4pm, just within the ‘10min grace period’. However, what he had not realised was that the time started, not when he purchased a ticket, but from the moment he entered the car park. He said this was an honest mistake, and this is what happens to other drivers.

He said: “From what I can see, this means that if you drove in and then had to rush your kids to the loo, then have to buy them an ice cream before buying your ticket for four hours, that you could, even if you left bang on four hours after buying your ticket, be sent a fine, the time on the ticket being meaningless.”

Mr Baylis told the Ross Gazette that he wrote to the owner of the Centre and also to Parking Eye who told him that they would not be contesting it.

He added that the increase of cameras and penalties is making him feel ‘a bit oppressed’ and hopes the MPs take the opportunity to encourage a fairer system.See this week’s paper for more stories like this, available in shops and as a Digital Edition now.