A business owner has criticised advice on avoiding loading bay fines as “unrealistic” after his ticket was cancelled. Clark Maides, of M and B Meats, successfully appealed against two fines after his van was ticketed while parked in a loading bay in London Road in Brighton because it was unattended for about six minutes. The letter cancelling his ticket included advice from Brighton and Hove City Council, saying that staff should not have a conversation during deliveries or go to the toilet.
The council introduced a “red route” in London Road in April, banning vehicles from stopping unless they were using specified bays. The parking tickets were issued on two days in July and the council rejected the initial appeals from Mr Maides unless he provided more information. One letter from the council said that it had reviewed six minutes and 36 seconds of footage during which a driver was seen returning to the van with “a small item” in his left hand.
The letter said: “You stated you were pushing heavy boxes from your fridge to the van. We would expect some activity to be seen within the observation time.” The letter said that the bays were in high demand and asked for more evidence such as invoices and proof of delivery if Mr Maides wanted to take his appeal further.
Mr Maides’s appeal finally succeeded two months after the initial penalty was issued but the result came with advice. Items for delivery should be prepared and “ready to go” because no time could.