Villager criticises Fleckney pub after being handed fine despite paying for parking
A man has hit out at a Fleckney pub after being given a fine for parking in its car park, despite paying.
Stephen Ashmore had parked his car in the Old Crown’s car park on the evening of September 5.
As he left his car to go into the Co-op, a woman alerted him to the new parking payment arrangements.
He immediately paid online and took a screenshot as proof of payment.
But two weeks later, he received a parking charge notice (PCN) claiming he hadn't paid.
The 54-year-old said: "Why was I issued a ticket? I should not have been issued a ticket. I’ve paid legitimately for my parking, so clearly their system is flawed.
“How many other residents in the village have been issued a ticket, and for whatever reason have just paid it?”
This comes just weeks after the tenant of the pub, LEC Pubs, defended its decision to bring in charges for its car parks on the High Street.
In a statement at the time, a spokesman for LEC Pubs said: “We are aware that concerns about the new parking arrangements have been raised directly with Everards Brewery and have also been discussed within the local community.
“We want to make it very clear that Everards Brewery did not introduce the parking enforcement. The decision was made by us, as the current tenants and operators of The Old Crown.”
Stephen appealed the charge, which was subsequently withdrawn. But he also received a separate PCN after parking for less than three minutes the previous day. His appeal against that £60 charge was rejected.
He explained: “It’s effectively like they’re charging me £20 a minute for the day before.”
He criticised the appeal process and called on the pub to be more transparent.
Stephen said: “It’s a totally faceless experience.”
“They need to front up a bit more.”
Paula Townsend, the pub’s landlady, refused to comment on the matter.
Everards declined to comment and LEC Pubs referred the Harborough Mail to its September statement.
The tenants previously claimed the paid parking system was introduced after “ongoing problems with people who were not using the pub, leaving their vehicles in our car parks, sometimes making it difficult for our customers to find somewhere to park”.
Old Crown customers can park for free for 24 hours by entering their vehicle registration details inside the pub.
Blue Badge holders get an hour of free parking, while any other drivers will need to pay.
Stephen added: “I think it’s created quite a lot of angst in the village.”