Westminster Council could be forced to pay back millions of pounds worth of parking tickets as a result of a case with McDonald’s UK distribution partner Keystone Distribution UK.
At the beginning of November the London Parking Adjudicator ruled that a parking ticket issued by Westminster Council to a Keystone lorry driver parked on a single yellow line in the city’s West End was illegal. The adjudicator ruled in Keystone’s favour owing to the absence of appropriate signage at the entrances to Zone F3, which covers a huge area in the heart of London’s shopping district.
It has now been suggested that any delivery vehicle driver that has been presented with a similar penalty notice in Zone F3 could appeal.
Keystone alone has racked up parking fines totaling more than £115,000 over the past five years.
Gary Livesey, transport manager at Keystone’s Hemel Hempstead distribution centre, said: “We are extremely pleased with the result from the adjudicator. If we thought the parking system was fair, we would have paid up immediately, but we feel parking attendants in the area have been over-zealous.”
Barrie Segal, founder of AppealNow.com, the company Keystone contacted to look into the complaint, added: “This is a victory for motorists in their fight against over-zealous councils as I believe that hundreds, if not thousands, of controlled parking zones across the UK are not properly marked as required by law.”
However, Westminster City Council’s parking manager, Kieran Fitsall, said it disagrees with the adjudicator’s decision and is currently seeking legal advice to see what steps it should take, with the possibility of asking for a review of the decision.
He added: “Contrary to Segal’s claims, motorists parked on yellow lines during the hours of control will continue to be in contravention of parking regulation and will still be issued a ticket.
“Further, this single case does not set a precedent and does not require the council to install a sign setting out the times of parking for every stretch of yellow line. Indeed, regulations only require that the entry point of each zone is signed.
“We are dedicated to providing a parking service that is firm, fair and excellent and I would advise any motorist who has any concerns about this issue to contact us directly.”
Segal’s advice to delivery vehicles which have received parking tickets for parking on single yellow lines in Zone F3 in Westminster is to contest their parking tickets quoting the “Keystone case – PATAS number 2080274557”. Zone 3 is bordered by the Oxford Street, Edgware Road, George Street/New Cavendish Street and Centre Point.
