A COUNCILLOR has urged a parking company to hold an amnesty for people caught out by little known changes to a popular car park.

A number of drivers have been caught out at the car park on Oastler Road, Saltaire, after not realising they had to register their car’s registration for their free 20-minute parking at the site.

The car park was taken over by Birmingham-based company Smart Parking from Bradford Council last month.

When it was Council-run, drivers could park at the site for free for the first 20 minutes. Now, Smart Parking have kept the 20-minute free parking system but drivers must now submit their registration number as proof.

Despite this change being displayed on signs next to the site’s ticket machine, drivers say the change was not displayed in a prominent position which may have led to drivers not realising the rule change.

Fine is paid within 14 days from the date of the alleged breach, it will be reduced to £60.

But Smart Parking remained defiant, adding “the vast majority of motorists have no problem using the system”.

Shipley cllr Kevin Warnes has now written to Smart Parking, on behalf of fellow town cllrs, Hawarun Hussain and Martin Love and Shipley MP Philip Davies, calling for the amnesty.

Cllr Warnes said: “I would be very grateful if you would please allow an amnesty for fines imposed to date, and perhaps a further grace period to allow drivers to adjust to the new arrangements.

“In particular, can you please reassure me that individual drivers will not be repeatedly fined for having parked on several occasions without being aware of the new arrangements (and having therefore parked several times before they received their first fine notification).

“It would be good for Smart Parking to reboot and revisit the signage and start again on this issue.

“I accept that it is a new system and there is always going to be teething problems.”

A Smart Parking spokesman said: “Smart Parking were brought in to manage the Oastler Road Car Park to reduce parking abuse and congestion, and to ensure genuine shoppers can always find a space to park.

“At the car park we use a state-of-the-art parking management system that records the time all motorists enter and exit.

“For shoppers that are only stopping for a short time, they simply need to add their registration number at the parking machines to qualify for 20 minutes of free parking. Parking tariffs apply for those motorists who wish to park for longer.

“When entering a private car park we would remind motorists to always check the terms and conditions first before deciding to park.

“There are over 11 signs at the Oastler Road car park that clearly highlight terms and conditions of use and the vast majority of motorists have no problems using the system.”

Meanwhile, Teddy Wright, 86, of Manor Drive, Cottingley, has also written to Smart Parking after he received a letter demanding a £100 fine while they were visiting a doctors’ surgery and then went for a meal.

He said he bought a parking ticket which they displayed in his windscreen. But he had pressed the parking machine’s go button to accept free 20 minutes parking by mistake and had been in the car park for 88 minutes instead. The incident took place on June 29.