Parking warning for 'no return within hour' policy at Leamington Shopping Park

Motorists are being ‘caught out by a stupid and trivial rule’ and sent penalty charge notices when using the car park at the Leamington Shopping Park despite parking there within the time limit set for customers.

Parkingeye, the company which manages parking at the retail park, has a restriction in place which penalises people who park at the site, leave and then return within an hour.

And those who have fallen foul of the restriction are warning others about it.

Mike Hancox, the managing director of Colan Ltd on the nearby Heathcote Industrial Estate, said: “I parked my car for ten minutes in a Blue Badge area and went to buy birthday cards from The Card Factory.

“I left the site but I had left my credit card at the store so I returned 27 minutes later before the store closed.

"I parked again for 11 minutes before leaving.

"Evidently you are not allowed back onto the site, as it is no return within an hour.

“I have used the retail park on numerous occasions in the past, the Parkingeye website says ‘free parking for up to four hours for up to 500 cars’ but there is absolutely no mention of any other parking restrictions.

“Yesterday I got a parking notice as I had returned on the night in question before the hour had passed.

“How many more motorists are being fined for this stupid trivial rule?

"Do the stores at the shopping park want any business or not?”

Southam resident Silvio Di Ciampa said his 76-year-old sister had parked at the shopping park for about ten minutes but had to leave to find her friend before she returned to do her shopping about 15 minutes later.

Mr Di Ciampa said “she was scared” by the letter she received seven weeks later and paid the £80 fine immediately.

He added: "When you get older, you get frightened by these type of letters.

"She had never even envisaged getting a ticket there because she didn’t think she had parked anywhere near long enough.

“I shop up there too and some of the staff at the stores have told me that several customers have been sent penalty notice letters for similar things.

"Store managers want the landlord to sort it out.

"It’s surely not good for business.”

Parkingeye says its aim is to ‘provide parking solutions to increase parking revenue, reduce car park abuse and improve customer satisfaction’.

A company spokesman said: “The car park at Leamington Shopping Park is monitored by ANPR camera systems and features 39 prominent and highly-visible signs providing information on how to use the car park responsibly.

“The guidance advises customers that they are entitled to a four-hour maximum stay with no return within one hour.

“The rules are in place to prevent long-stay parking abuse and ensure that spaces are available for customers.

“We would add that Parkingeye operates a BPA (British Parking Association) audited appeals process, which motorists can use to appeal their Parking Charge Notice.

"If anyone has mitigating circumstances, we would encourage them to highlight this by appealing.”

https://www.parkingeye.co.uk/