Parking enforcement at Banbury sports centre, which has fined hundreds of motorists, 'is illegal' claims driver

Banbury motorist Carl Gilbert said drivers, who have paid out thousands after being sent ‘invoices’ by the private company enforcing parking restrictions at the Cherwell District Council-owned centre, should be refunded.

Mr Gilbert, who lives in Banbury, said expert information given through an ongoing campaign by users of the MoneySavingExpert Forum indicates that council-owned – and therefore publicly-owned – land must not be subjected to camera driven automatic number plate recognition.

He qualified this to say public car parks with cash machines and barriers, using number plate recognition, such as the council-owned car park at Bolton Road, Banbury, are legal. But systems that depend solely on number plate recognition of car entry and exit such as the one used at the Spiceball Leisure Centre are not legal.

The Banbury Guardian asked Cherwell District Council two weeks ago to clarify the status of the land and whether it believes the ANPR system contracted by Legacy Leisure – which runs the sports centre for the council under a lease – is legal. We have not yet received a response.

Since then the car parking appears to be barred to vehicles.

Mr Gilbert said the Government intervened in the issue of 'parking sharks' ten years ago. One of the results was that councils were not allowed to use ANPR on publicly owned land. This applies to the Spiceball car park, he said.

"The council has allowed Smart Parking to take over the running of the leisure centre car park. They have straight away thrown up cash cameras at the entrance, away from the main car park. The car park is small compared to the size of the centre and often you can't find a space and need to drive out again and park elsewhere.

“This is where the payday comes in for them as the payment for parking is 40p for 0 to 30 min, so as soon as you drive out again they issue a parking invoice for non payment.

"There have been many hit by dropping off children for swimming lessons, then driving out to do their shopping and then picking up again. Win win for SmartParking.

"They are not allowed to get your registration number from DVLA but they do so using loopholes. The DVLA should only be giving out information if it's relevant land.

“I have spoken to the manager of the centre who, despite loads of complaints,and I have tried to get some information directly from the council about grace periods - without any luck.”

Mr Gilbert said people consider the invoices they are sent ‘fines’ or ‘penalties’ and pay up - but, in his opinion, they should not have to.

"These companies are raking in millions upon millions from people. It's a cash-making machine, they're going to bite the hand off anyone who asks them to enforce their parking. They make their money by issuing invoices,” he said. “This affects council car parks all over the country. Councils aren't allowed to use ANPR for parking enforcement. It became illegal as part of the Deregulation Act in 2015.”

Mr Gilbert believes the unlawful issue of invoices could be happening at other Cherwell sports centres – Kidlington and Gosford, Bicester and Woodgreen - and he believes those who have been ‘fined’ thousands of pounds over recent years may need to be repaid.

Last month we highlighted the case of a young mum who received six invoices totalling nearly £700 after the Smart Parking cameras at Spiceball Leisure Centre recorded her parking in a blue badge space while she took her autistic son swimming.

Mr Gilbert believes the council may not have gone through the fine detail when Legacy Leisure appointed Smart Parking.

"It seems they've cocked up. They should have known. It remains public land,” he said. “If they have justification to use this system, when was it proved in court?"

Mr Gilbert, of Sinclair Avenue, has never received an invoice; he will not take his car to the Spiceball car park. He said the situation is so bad and motorists are so frustrated, the leisure centre has lost memberships.

He advised people issued with invoices to complain to DVLA that Smart Parking is using ANPR on behalf of a Local Authority client.

“They might tell you to complain to the DLUHC (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) in which case, do,” he said. “The car park is open to the public and owned or provided by the council. They are not allowed to operate as if it's private land."

“The invoices are for breach and contract of terms and conditions written on the boards - they are not fines. The only way they can do that is try to take people to small claims court. The council has got to give their justification to why they are using ANPR when it is banned.”

Mr Gilbert said he had asked Cherwell District Council and Legacy Leisure for clarification some weeks ago but has heard nothing. He says he has put in an official complaint to the DLUCH about Cherwell District Council allowing the use of ANPR through Smart Parking, and enabling that company to use non relevant land to issue parking invoices.

The Banbury Guardian has contacted Smart Parking for a response and received no reply.

A huge number of parking issues, including the legality of various penalties and ways of challenging fines and charges, has been a focus on the issue on the MoneySavingExpert site.