2 parking tickets in one day!

[goldenharvest]

DH and I met up at a local beauty spot and did a 5 mile walk and took some photos. Got back to our respective cars to collect kids and they both had parking tickets (cars not kids). The area is pretty isolated, Ladybower reservoir, and the 'car park' was literally some waste ground. No signs anywhere. We have taken photos and will contest them, but is this even legal?

Could be a scam? If there are no signs to say otherwise then it's fine to park there surely.

Who has issued the tickets?
Why did you not use the official car park?

Are they genuine council issued tickets or these scummy little private companies

Is it a named car park? Did you see any pay and display machines?

I got this once, they called it "parking on a verge" I think. It was a patch of scrubby grass in the middle of nowhere!

Definitely not legal. The company will reject your appeal but Money Savings Expert has templates for appeals to POPLA. I’ve used them and had parking tickets dismissed.

In one case POPLA found in the car park company’s favour and I still didn’t pay as I was happy to be taken to court for it.

Ladybower is all paid parking or no parking permitted. If you can park there, you pay. And the attendants are always there. That's why so many park on the big main road before the turn off onto the road along the reservoir. I would be amazed if you won an appeal.

You still need to have signs up.

As someone else said, Money Saving Expert (Martin Lewis) is great on parking tickets and there is also a dedicated forum.

@Nottherealslimshady But where are the signs? We'd never been there before and actually parked up? Is there a website I can check?

The two main large car parks (Fairholmes and Heatherdene) are pay and display and there is no way you could describe them as waste ground. There are three "waste ground" car parks. The ones at Derwent Overlook and Hurst Clough are free (or were the last time I was there) but the one at Bridge End is pay and display and is clearly marked.

I now feel very lucky - we parked in a proper car park there the other week but were only stopping for 5-10 mins and didn't have the minimum £3.50 the car park machine wanted, so we parked up and left the car saying "I doubt anyone comes and checks"!! Thankfully no parking ticket!

Sorry OP, not helpful, I know. If you are certain there are no signs then yes, I would most definitely appeal it. Who are the tickets issued by? I thought you only got actual tickets on your car from council parking attendants and that private parking "fines" come in the post.

If you're parking off a road but there's a double yellow line on the road, for example, you're not supposed to park there, even if you're on the other side of the lines IYSWIM, so could it be that?

Check the Peak District National Park website.

Who issued the parking tickets?

Round Ladybower they're likely to be council tickets, so they are definitely enforceable.

We see ticketed cars almost every time we are there, mostly verge parking alongside double yellows. I've always thought the signage fairly clear but that's from watching the various bits of chargeable parking being introduced over the years. It may be confusing if you've never been before.

It's a bit of a dramatic title.

You came in two cars and parked them in the same place so of course both cars got a ticket.

@Nottherealslimshady

Ladybower is all paid parking or no parking permitted. If you can park there, you pay. And the attendants are always there. That's why so many park on the big main road before the turn off onto the road along the reservoir. I would be amazed if you won an appeal.

I was going to say this. By the dam the main carpark with the visitors centre is clear, and the ones on the way down are pay and display. Then by the other reservoir the main carpark up the hill is pay and display. That's why so many people park on the road heading to and over the bridge.

Where abouts did you park OP?

Were there other cars parked there? Did they have tickets too?

Derwent Overlook Car Park is still free (or was the last time we were there)

Did you go down the track past the visitors centre? Where it splits into 2 - one open and the other with a gate?
If so, that's why you got ticketed. You're not supposed to park there although loads do.

We parked on the wide grass verges near the road that had the double lines. Off the road and no harm to anyone, but there you go. We only saw about 4 people on our walk so it wasn't exactly busy.

Of course we would have paid, but we didn't know any of this, and didn't even see the car park.

Goodbye £70!

Grass verges aren't car parks. There's plenty of parking bays and inexpensive paid for parking around ladybower.
In some areas the land is private (and parking not allowed) in some there are pipes alongside the road that parking on top of causes damage, and in some it's areas that need to be kept clear for visibility for walkers and emergency access.

It won't be busy at the moment because they've told people not to travel unless it's essential, so they're not expecting people to travel any distance to it.

We parked on the wide grass verges near the road that had the double lines.

That's not a "car park" at all!

You parked on some grass? There's a lesson there - pay a reasonable parking charge or be tight and get a ticket!