Dawlish Discussion

People of Dawlish arise and take a stand against the iniquitous council bureaucracy!

We went into town early today to enjoy the Christmas Market (splendid) and returned to our car to find we'd been given a parking ticket. We'd parked in Brunswick Place, believing that Teignbridge's "Free Sunday Parking" policy was in place - but it wasn't. I checked on the web-site later to find that the policy applies only to car parks, not on-road parking. So admittedly our mistake but it is not at all clear and is obviously confusing. Apart from that where has Christmas spirit gone. We only wanted to enjoy the Christmas Market and instead have our visit spoilt by mindless bureaucracy.

If anyone agrees with me why not e-mail your councillor and Teignbridge District Council - let's see if people power can make any difference. After all councillors are here to represent us.

Rant over.

On-street parking is the responsibility of Devon County Council not Teignbridge District Council. To be fair, this has been well publicised.

Just another example of the nonsense (as I see it ) of having certain councils responsible for some things and other councils responsible for other things especially when some of those things are so easily confused eg street parking (Devon county Council) and car parks (Teignbridge District Council). Then of course there are the car-parks that are not controlled by Teignbridge.

No wonder people get caught out.

The answer given at a recent meeting of traders by Clatworthy's con men, is that it can take upto 3 months for them to vary the on street parking arrangements. This is all well and good but dosen't seem to apply to putting the prices up only reducing them. Write to Councillor Clatworthy directly to complain but dont expect anything to change, because he dosen't really care.

One other route to explore is the legality of the on street parking regulations in Dawlish, as DCC make a habit of imposing these without the required government orders as in Exmouth. Peter Harry's your man to advise on this.

Lynne can usually supply the contact details for these people

Would it be easier if it was just Devon County Council? end of.

Wouldn't it be easier if all parking was free on Sundays leading up to Christmas irrespective of what council looked after it? You almost feel like the traffic wardens are waiting rubbing their hands in anticipation of some poor sod getting it wrong.

@MugOnHead

Don't doubt for one moment that Peter H not only reads this website but also actively takes part.

However, I think there may be a problem with his responding on here about this for if he does so and gives us all the benefit of his extensive knowledge concerning (il)legal car parking won't he have to forfeit the anonymity that his posting name presently gives him?

The Parking signs are very clear, street parking is marked as being 'payable' 7 days a week from 9am to 6pm, the car park machines clearly state that parking is free on Sundays till end March. Free parking on streets on Sundays is the worst thing that can happen for traders. Just check Brunswick Place on Sunday morning, full of residents cars, these get moved around 9am, if parking was free
they would remain all day and visitors would just drive by. I know several people who live in Brunswick place and they all tell me they would park all day Sunday in the Street if it was free, (obviously).
When will people realise if you don't provide parking close to shops you lose customers.

The Strand and Brunswick Place are always full of cars, making it obvious that people don't mind paying for parking, IF they can park close to places they want to visit.

Don't know what all the fuss is about.. I would have thought it was quite clear. Free car parks on Sunday means what it says. Brunswick place is not a car park.

Good point BobRees, but wherever I park, ie anywhere in the UK I simply read the parking restriction signs, simple really, when all else fails, read the instructions.

BTW, Blue Badge holders can park 24/7 in the streets in Dawlish but have to pay if using the Car Parks if they don't have an extra permit from Teignbridge Council.

Like you said Wriggler. Simple.

Why do we have to pay for on street parking anyway?

Cllr Clatworthy was the lead player in introducing this in Dawlish in 2004.

He is now deputy leader of Devon County Council and is hell bent on introducing it in other coastal and market towns in Devon.

He is a capitalist and all capitalist give in one hand and take back twice as much with the other.

I must admit I always try and find free parking, I even manage that in Newton Abbot even though it is only for an hour, so I don't object to short term free parking but street parking charges are good for local traders.
Without them The Strand and Brunswick Place would be permanently full of residents cars, meaning a lot of visitors wouldn't stop here. I don't patronise traders in Towns when travelling around Devon if I can't find street parking near where I want to stop, and am sure I'm not the only one.
Money, from parking, has by Law to go to transport infrastucture in the Council area in which it is collected. You can always inspect the Council accounts if you think the money is being mis-appropriated.

Prior to meters all parking was on a limited wait basis and the police Traffic Wardens dealt with it if my memory is correct the Strand was a 30 minute limited wait and Brunswick was 1 hour. As far as the Police where concerned very expensive to manage and so eventually machines where introduced to simplify things in actual fact two full time wardens where cut to one full time and one part time. Again if i remember correctly there where six wardens based at Teighnmouth working 5 days a week and parking was free on Sundays and Bank Holidays. Wriggler is correct prior to Sunday restrictions you couldnt park either in Brunswick or the Strand as residents parked up Saturday evening to Monday morning

leatash!! Traffic Wardens, how dare you!! nothing so common.
They are Enforcement Officers no less, actually based in Newton Abbot and travel around in a Van, there is one local 'warden' who works Dawlish as and when needed. That's unusual as Wardens usually don't operate in areas where they live, for obvious reasons!!

Glad you confirm my point about free weekend parking, it is very bad for business in a small town.

They were Traffic Wardens then employed by the Police Authority, then the councils took over parking matters and they became Civil Enforcement Officers

Thanks for all the interest. I thought it might have just been me who was confused but I did write to one of the local councillors who replied "Like you, I would have assumed that all parking was free on Sundays and would have made the same mistake". So despite what others may say it is obviously confusing even for councillors who are responsible for endorsing the policy.

This is how Herald Express announced it. Whilst there are references to "car parks" in the article the scheme is always referred to as "free Sunday parking" or similar not "free Sunday car parks" so anyone reading the article quickly or just skimming could easily be confused by the headline. Obviously it will teach me to read more carefully!!

Towns join free Sunday parking initiative

PEOPLE heading to the three of Teignbridge's main towns will now be able to enjoy free parking on Sundays ................

The trio are joining rural areas in offering free Sunday parking as part of a Teignbridge District Council pilot scheme aimed at boosting local trade and cutting costs to motorists.

The scheme gets under way on Sunday, October 30, and runs until the end of March 2012.........

The pilot scheme saw charges dropped on Sundays in all rural areas of the district from August, and now towns and resorts are joining in for the winter months........................

The council's executive member for assets and resources Cllr Stuart Barker said: "This should prove a great boost to Christmas trade, with smart shoppers staying local and avoiding costly parking charges elsewhere.

"As an authority we've pledged to review parking around the district, and while that's under way we've been pleased to introduce the free Sunday parking scheme well ahead of schedule, rather than waiting until setting the new administration's first budget in April 2012.

Success. Thankyou TDC. I appealed the parking ticket and as a sign of good will they have agreed to waive the charge. So if you know of anyone else who's had a similar experience advise them to appeal on the grounds that the parking policy is confusing. Happy Xmas everyone.

Well done Neil. There's hope yet for everyone else who didn't realise. And well done to Teignbridge for their seasonal gesture of goodwill.

Just an afterthought, for the benefit of any others that might appeal, was it TDC or DCC that you appealed to? I only ask because I thought on-street parking was administrated by DCC.

It was TDC - they act as agents for DCC.

Thanks. :-)

AND NOW THE TEIGNMOUTH POST HAS RAISED THE ISSUE!! ...........

Free ­parking confusion means drivers ticketed

Friday, 16 December 2011

by John Ware

THE ‘free’ parking in Teignmouth on Sundays is confusing motorists with several being booked.

Fees are waived in all Teignbridge Council car parks, but county council on-street regulations are still in force.

More than a dozen motorists were given tickets by a warden at 8am on a Sunday.

In Newton Abbot, however, there are no parking charges on or off street on Sundays, and Teignmouth traders and councillors are protesting: ‘It’s not fair.’

Town councillors on Tuesday said the distinction between the district and county parking areas was lost on the majority of residents.

Cllr Dave Matthews fumed that the ‘free parking on Sundays’ publicity by Teignbridge was misleading, and he demanded Teignmouth got parity with l From page 1

Newton.

Cllr Vince Fusco wanted to know why the resort was being treated differently, and Cllr Sylvia Russell added that people should not be expected to know the difference between the on and off street.

Town clerk Dave Tickell said traders had put up ‘free parking’ notices in good faith, only to find that customers were being booked in parking meter zones.

The Teignbridge civil enforcement officers also monitored the street meters on behalf of the county, which was charged a fee.

He had written to Cllr Stuart Barker, the Teignbridge member responsible for parking, but had not received a reply.

County Cllr James McMurray admitted there were anomalies between district and county policies, and far more co-ordination was needed. He pointed out that the county lost about £1 million a year in enforcing parking, but Teignbridge made a £2.5 million profit.

It was agreed that the clerk should write another strong letter of protest to Cllr Barker, asking for an urgent response.