Cameras enforcing the rules in a Preston supermarket car park have been operating without planning permission – for seven years.
The kit – monitoring parking activity at the Booths store on Sharoe Green Lane in Fulwood – was installed by Chorley-based ParkingEye in December 2018.
However, it has emerged that the firm had not secured the necessary approval from Preston City Council.
The company has now been granted “retrospective” permission by the authority for three pole-mounted automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras – and two payment machines – after submitting an application to remedy the error.
A strict two-hour waiting limit is in place on the car park, which is directly opposite the Royal Preston Hospital.
Signage that pre-dates Parking Eye’s operation of the facility warns that visitors to the hospital are not permitted to use the supermarket for parking.
For shoppers, their first hour’s stay is free, with the option to pay for a second. Visitors to the in-store cafe can register for a second hour for free.
Breaches of any aspect of the rules governing use of the car park result in fines, issued by ParkingEye, of £100.
It was reported earlier this year that ParkingEye had had to apply for retrospective permission for ANPR cameras it had installed at Booths stores in Garstang and Poulton-le-Fylde. The firm said in relation to the oversights in those cases that any penalty notices issued during the period that planning approval was not in place were “still valid”.
ParkingEye was approached for comment by the Local Democracy Reporting Service about the seven-year absence of permission for its cameras at Booths’ Fulwood branch, but had not responded by the time of publication.
A spokesperson for Booths said: “Booths will continue to offer one hour of free parking for customers who shop at Fulwood Booths.
“With regards to the retrospective planning, this is a matter for ParkingEye and Preston City Council to comment on in more detail.”
In a report outlining their reasons for approving the retrospective planning application, Preston City Council planning officials stated: “Given the existing commercial nature of the application site, the installation of three ANPR cameras, two payment machines, and associated infrastructure is considered acceptable in principle.
“No objections were received relating to the proposal. The proposed development…would not have any undue impacts upon visual amenity or highway safety.”
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