17 hours ago
Holidaymaker hit with hefty fine parking car in tourist hotspot 'parking space'
Tourists in a Cornish village are getting fined for parking in what look like designated spaces — but there's a hidden catch that's left many furious and confused.
A holidaymaker has declared it's a "sad day for tourism" after he and fellow visitors were slapped with fines for parking in bays at a Cornish village car park which are no longer actually designated spaces.
Dan Down claims that there are no warning signs alerting drivers that several bays in Cornwall Council-owned Cawsand car park have been scrapped - despite the painted markings still being clearly visible.
The authority recently re-marked spaces in the 139-bay car park on the Rame Peninsula but chose not to restore around seven bays, aiming to improve vehicle circulation.
Yet the previous markings remain visible, causing motorists to park in them - only to be hit with penalty notices.
Mr Down, who has been visiting Cawsand for more than two decades and had returned for a break with his wife, young son and extended family, left his car in one of the defunct parking bays on Sunday (August 17) unknowingly and came back to discover a £50 penalty notice, which drops to £25 if settled within a fortnight. He has no plans to pay up.
He told CornwallLive: "It's a sad day for tourism in Cawsand when council parking wardens hand out tickets for not parking in a parking space. Clearly I was along with many others.
"There were six or seven other people who parked in similar spaces in the car park who all said, 'if you turn up and see what looks like a parking space with white lines, it's a parking space'. There's no signage either side of the car park or on the parking meters saying 'do not park there'. The lines are clearly still visible."
Mr Down, from Wiltshire, who has contested the fine, stated: "If they don't want people parking there they should have signs up saying that and they should burn off the lines. I'm quite happy to go to court and argue it. I've got nothing to lose.
"There was a lady parked next to me with a Land River Discovery who was really miffed. She said, 'I'm going to pass this on to my solicitor'. She said, 'if I go into a car park and see a boxed area, unless there's signs or burnt off lines, why would I not park there?'.
"Everyone I've spoken to in the area has said how strange it is. The odd person's said it's because I parked like a tit and wasn't straight in the space, but that's not the case. It puts you off coming back to places like this."
Cllr Kate Ewert, Cornwall Council's Labour councillor for the area, said she was aware - though hadn't been notified by the council - that the car park had been relined, although spaces which are no longer spaces have not been erased meaning faint white lines are still visible.
"It's causing some confusion," she admitted, hinting that those affected might stand a good chance of getting their fines overturned.
A spokesperson for Cornwall Council said: "Following recent relining works at Cawsand car park, several parking bays were intentionally not reinstated to ensure that vehicles can move freely around the site. We are aware that some of the older markings may still be visible - although they are faded compared to the new lines - and are taking steps to make it clear that these are no longer designated parking spaces.
"We will review any representation from motorists who believe they may have had a notice issued to them on this basis. Anyone in this position is encouraged to follow the representation process outlined on the back of their notice."
