News Beat
I was slapped with a fine for parking outside my own house
A DRIVER has been issued a fine after parking his car outside his home.
David Miller received the £35 penalty for parking outside his Chester home gate, which he had been doing for the past decade.
The 49-year-old has now brought in solicitors to fight the council after they turned down his appeal to cancel the fine.
David said: “I was shocked when I saw the ticket on the windshield.
“The car was well behind the yellow lines, it’s wasn’t impeding any pedestrians as the path is on the other side of the road.
“I had always assumed I could park there – I had done for ten years with no issues.
“I see it as a money-making exercise from the council – an excuse for them to pick on neighbourhoods for no reason.
“I have had neighbours get tickets for parking on similar tarmac outside their houses and they have been rescinded.
“Why is mine being treated differently?”
The business consultant parked his car on the six-metre long tarmac outside of his house gate on January 11, as building materials from a recent roof renovation were blocking his driveway.
David was stunned to find a parking ticket stuck to his car the next morning.
That afternoon, David challenged Cheshire West and Chester Council to get the fine cancelled.
But his appeal was turned down the following day, leading him to call in solicitors to back his fight against the council.
After posting the incident on social media, David said he was approached by a local solicitor who would help him challenge the council’s decision again.
David said: “He told me there are a multitude of reasons, including signage, but the main one being the fact their is a drop curb there.
“Because of the curb, it creates a break meaning the yellow lines belong to the highway and not the piece of tarmac.
“He said if I wasn’t allowed to park there, then the yellow lines would be painted to go upto my gate.
“If you look at it from a legal perspective, I suppose the council are within their rights to do it, in the letter of the law, but from a common-sense perspective, it’s part of my drive.
“It’s not restricting any traffic coming into the road.
A spokesperson for Cheshire West and Chester Council said: “Following complaints about parking in this area, the Council’s Civil Enforcement Officers increased their visits to ensure compliance with the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO).
“This location is adopted by the local authority and is fully enforceable.”
The council say the double yellow lines in fact “extend from the centre of the carriageway to the land boundary, which in this case is the residents‘ fence”.
They added: “Vehicles parked on this land or the adjacent grassed area are considered to be in contravention of the restrictions.”
