Illegal parking crackdown welcomed by Newport City Council
Posted on Wednesday 22nd February 2017
Newport City Council welcomes the action being taken by Gwent Police in tackling drivers who park illegally across the city.
Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, Sustainability and Transport, Councillor Ray Truman, is delighted at the recent crackdown, particularly in the city centre area of the Stow Hill Ward, after residents had complained to him and the Police about the problem.
However he stressed that there were also many other areas of the city with serious parking issues and called for enforcement action in the areas outside of the centre.
A spokeswoman for Gwent Police said officers recognise illegal parking within the Stow Hill Ward is a particular problem. However officers regularly patrol the city centre and surrounding residential areas to enforce parking restrictions.
More than 1,100 tickets have been issued so far this financial year.
Community Support Officers recently carried out an enforcement operation where 70 fixed penalty tickets were issued for various parking offences in one day; from Monday to Thursday in the week ending February 17, police issued 48 tickets throughout the ward.
A spokeswoman for Gwent Police said: “Parking enforcement is one of the many competing demands that come with policing the city centre. We will continue to allocate resources to this problem, but we have to balance this with the other priorities that local residents tell us are also important to them such as dealing with anti-social behaviour and crime.
“It is clear that despite the considerable amount of enforcement carried out by officers, this is not at a level that has a significant deterrent effect to prevent motorists parking illegally on a daily basis.
“Gwent Police is working with our local authorities to ensure that the most effective approach to parking enforcement is adopted throughout Gwent and a number of options are currently being considered to tackle the problem.”
Cllr Truman added: “I appreciate the work done in Stow Hill Ward but I would also ask the police to look at other areas outside the centre where residents are facing daily battles through inconsiderate motorists parking illegally.
“And we will continue to work with the police to encourage ongoing ticketing, which will result in offenders continually being fined.”