Calls for action to be taken against private car park owners “fining drivers on a regular basis”

Wrexham Council has been challenged over what action it has taken against some private car parking operators.

It comes after an increase in the number of people who have received fines in car parks surrounding the city centre in recent months.

At Plas Coch Retail Park people have received fines from walking from the likes of Boots and TK Maxx to Sainsbury’s and Aldi – something which until up until this summer had never been an issue.

In many instances these have been successfully challenged by the recipient and thrown out by the car parking operators.

Speaking at an executive board meeting yesterday, Cllr Pete Howells – on behalf of Cllr Rebecca Martin – asked: “What action is Wrexham County Borough Council taking to deal with the growing problem of private parking issues on Island Green, Wickes, Plas Coch Shopping Park and Home Bargains sites where aggressive companies are fining drivers on a regular basis.”

Council leader Mark Pritchard said that although the car parks were out of the control of the local authority, work has been ongoing to engage with some parking operators.

He added that he had received “hundreds of emails” complaining about the issues at privately owned car parks.

Cllr Pritchard said: “We have no authorisation over the management or the running of them.

“I do have an information report here in front of me but I won’t read from it because I think we all know within Wrexham the issues around these carparks.

“Myself and I must say the MP Sarah Atherton has worked very hard, I believe that MSs have also been contacted and we’ve all worked tirelessly to engage with the companies to work with us to improve the parking around these car parks.

“Unfortunately, we haven’t been successful. We have had some success in some of the parking tickets and we’ve had results on that.

“I have had hundreds of emails and I know that the MPs and the MSs have had the same.

“The bluntness of it is they are not our car parks, they’re privately owned and privately managed.

“We will continue to try to engage with the owners to improve the ticketing and the management of the car parks because it does have a detrimental effect on Wrexham as a place.

“I’m not happy but we have tried to engage and we’ve worked really hard.”