Island Green parking firm accused of breaking code of conduct by local politicians

Two MSs in a long-running dispute with a private parking company believe it may be in breach of its code of conduct.

For several months, Lesley Griffiths and Ken Skates have been taking a stand against Euro Car Parks (ECP), the firm that operates the car park at Island Green Shopping Centre in Wrexham city centre, after constituents were issued with unfair fines.

In June 2023, the Members of the Senedd arranged to meet with senior ECP representatives.

Although the meeting was initially accepted, it was cancelled at the last minute by ECP with no explanation.

Since then, any attempt to rearrange has been rejected or ignored and the company eventually said it could only communicate with elected representatives in writing.

As Euro Car Parks is a member of the British Parking Association, it must follow a Code of Conduct which specifically states correspondence from MPs and MSs must be dealt with ‘promptly’ and ‘definitive and comprehensive responses’ should be provided ‘within 28 days.’ It continues ‘failure to achieve these deadlines may be considered a Sanctionable Breach of the Code.’

A further letter has been sent to Euro Car Parks highlighting the company’s responsibilities and once again requesting a meeting as a matter of urgency.  The latest letter also questions how many keying errors have occurred at Island Green over the past 12 months.

Lesley Griffiths MS said: “Unfortunately, after all this time, constituents are still contacting my office after being issued with unfair Parking Charge Notices at Island Green.

“Keying errors remain the prime concern and a meeting would allow us to discuss the issues thoroughly, as well as providing an opportunity to rectify local tensions and perceptions of ECP’s practices.

“It is most unusual for elected representatives to be refused a meeting given we are representing our constituents and ECP have never explained why they cannot meet.

“It is clear Euro Car Parks is breaching its code of conduct and I hope bringing this new information to light will force the company to review its stance.”

Ken Skates MS added: “So many of our constituents, not to mention visitors to Wrexham, are being treated with contempt by the company and having their appeals dismissed out of hand.

“By continuing to ignore our repeated requests for a meeting so that we can discuss these issues, it’s clear the company is in breach of the BPA code of conduct.

“As we’ve said before, so many people are reporting the same issues that it can’t be coincidence or bad luck. If Euro Car Parks truly believes the way it operates is beyond reproach, and that so many of its customers simply don’t know how to put their vehicle registration into a pay and display machine correctly, then what are they afraid of?”