Worthing Borough Council would today like to apologise for any confusion caused after it took over the running of the Montague Centre car park.
The Council took ownership of the 120-space area from CP Plus on Saturday after listening to complaints from the public about the private operators.
Contractors have already carried out a number of improvements, such as installing new machines and repainting the bays and lines. Charges to blue badge holders have also been lifted up to a maximum of a three hour stay.
The car park also changed to a pay and display car park meaning customers are required to pay in advance for their stay rather than at the end. This can be done with cash and card at the meters, by text or via the free MiPermit app.
The change to paying in advance is clearly advertised within the car park and at every pay station. However, we appreciate that customers, particularly those who regularly use the car park, need time to adjust to change.
For this reason we want to make clear that a 14 day grace period has been introduced to allow customers time to adjust to the new set-up. This means those parking without a valid ticket up to Monday 17th August 2020 will receive a warning notice rather than a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN).
We want to apologise for any confusion during this time and confirm that any PCNs issued since the Council took control of the car park have been cancelled.
A Council spokesman said:
“We took the decision to take over the running of the car park after the public frequently raised complaints with us about the private operators. We know that the first few days have not been ideal and apologise for not being clearer to customers about the change to a pay and display operation.
“For those who still prefer to park without knowing how long they will stay in the town centre, the free MiPermit app provides notifications to a mobile phone that a parking session is about to expire and allows customers to extend their stay on the go.
“Blue badge holders can also now park here for free for a maximum of three hours if their vehicle is parked in a designated disabled bay with a valid blue badge and clock set at the time of arrival clearly displayed.”
Reposted from the Adur and Worthing Council Website.
