RESIDENTS are being threated with £70 fines for parking outside their own homes after the council put up CCTV cameras.
Homeowners living near Old Clee Primary Academy in Grimsby have been hit with warning notices.
John AronResidents are being hit with fine warnings after CCTV cameras were installed near their homes[/caption]
John AronThe new restrictions were put in place to avoid parents parking recklessly[/caption]
John AronResident Gerry Daine said parents drop their kids off late now to avoid getting fined[/caption]
Bosses at North East Lincolnshire Council tried to tackle the issue of parents parking recklessly during school drop-off hours.
However, the school gate cameras have mistakenly captured locals’ cars.
Between 8am and 9am, and 3pm to 4pm, anyone stopping near to the school is liable to be fined under new by-laws.
Pensioners Annette Daine, 74, and husband Gerry, 83, were sent a warning letter after waiting on the road to turn into their driveway.
Annette told The Sun Online: “I got back at 3.55pm but I couldn’t get onto my drive because there were people walking past.
“That’s when the cameras clocked me. Fortunately they didn’t fine me but next time they might.
“It’s frustrating because I agree with what the council is doing – I think the cameras are brilliant.
“But it’s unfair that people living near the school could be fined.
“The worst thing is that I’ve tried to contact the council to try and sort this out but no-one answers the phone or knows what I’m talking about.”
The cameras have already been used to issue 43 warning letters since December.
Gerry welcomed the cameras – but claimed some parents were deliberately dropping the children off at the gates beyond 9am to avoid punishment.
He said: “Now you find one or two parents are pulling up at two minutes past nine.
“They’re rushing them into class late.”
Another neighbour Mark Gillan, 54, told how his uncle was hit with a warning notice after briefly stopping to visit.
He said: “He was just dropping something off and then a letter came in the post. He was only here for 10 minutes.
“Right now I’m waiting for the washing machine guy to turn up. But if he stops, does that mean he will be fined?”
The cameras – which have been installed as part of £2.1million scheme across Grimsby – have divided opinion among parents.
NOT FINE
Mum-of-two Simone Barker, 34, said: “There are parents who would drive into the school if they could.
“The cameras haven’t really stopped it.
“They still have got to get as close as they can.
“My son will be allowed to walk home by himself when he is in Year 5 but I’ve got reservations about it because sometimes the parking is just ridiculous.”
One dad, who didn’t give his name, called the council “b******s” for installing cameras.
He said: “It’s excessive – people are just parking to pick their kids up.”
Grandad Dave Pitts, 74, said: “Even with the cameras, it hasn’t stopped it. There are still parents parking on the corners of junctions.
“The council should send a traffic warden round and stick a ticket on them all.
“It’s a minority who don’t want to park a bit further away because they think it’s too far to walk.
“It’s just laziness.”
But Katie Tague, 44, who lives next to the school, said the cameras had made an impact.
She said: “It could be chaos outside, especially when it was raining. There were cars bumper-to-bumper and drivers trying to do three-point turns.
“There were the little dots in nursery running out the school gates and it was pretty dangerous.
“The school put signs up which seemed to calm things down and now the cameras are up, it’s not a problem anymore.”
Drivers caught stopping or parking illegally can reduce the fine to £35 if paid within 14 days.
Councillor Ron Shepherd, of North East Lincolnshire Council, said: “Schools should be a place that children can go in and out of safely and with relative ease, but vehicles blocking access and traffic being backed up can cause lots of problems.
“By rolling this approach out to more schools in our area, we are making sure that the school gates are once again a safe space for children.”
Have you been stung by a parking fine? Email your story to [email protected]
John AronMum Simone Barker said the cameras haven’t helped the parking situation[/caption]
John AronVehicles stopped in the no stopping zone School parking Old Clee Primary[/caption] Read More