A parking firm which was slammed for the way it runs a Wirral car park is now seeking permission for cameras and signs it has already put up at the site.
Smart Parking took over the operation of Liscard’s Cherry Tree Shopping Centre car park last summer, something which has generated huge controversy with dozens taking to social media to complain about fines they have been given. Last October, it emerged the operator does not have planning permission for some of the cameras and signs it is using to manage the Liscard car park, something the firm is seeking to address by applying for retrospective planning permission.
Commenting on this in April, Cllr Janette Williamson, leader of Wirral Council, launched an attack on the company, saying breaking planning rules while punishing others for not following the parking rules it has put in place to the letter “smacks of outrageous hypocrisy”. Reacting to such criticism at the time, a spokesperson for Smart Parking said it was brought in to manage the car park for one simple reason, to stop “endemic parking abuse”, and that the ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) camera system has successfully stopped the parking abuse.
