Question:
I am wondering why, when parking charges were suspended on 8th December, the meters in Bexhill were all still taking money? Why were they not covered or turned off? Of three meters in the De La Warr car park, two had no signs giving information on the suspension at all and one had one posted adjacent to the actual meter but in a position that would only been seen if you were actually searching for it (likewise the Eversley Road and Wainwright Road car parks). Why not actually put the info on the meter or cover the slot? I saw so many people paying. Its not in the Christmas spirit. Perhaps you could arrange to donate the money taken to charity? (11/12/2018)
Answer:
Thank you for your query regarding the concessionary Christmas parking dates in the run up to Christmas. Every year, Rother District Council liaises with the Chamber of Commerce in Bexhill, Battle, and Rye, and allocates three days of their choosing for the suspension of parking charges. The concessionary parking dates were widely advertised by Rother District Council – we advertised the suspension of parking charges on the notice boards within each of the car parks and, in addition, the dates were published in local newspapers, on the Rother District Council website, on our social media channels, and on My Alerts. Local shops and attractions could also choose to advertise the dates if they so desire.
Several years previously, before the introduction of card payments on the machines, there was a blank section on the face of the machines and notices were affixed there. Unfortunately, we are no longer able to put notices on the machines as there is now no free space on which to affix them. To cover or switch off each payment machine would involve staff visiting every car park on each of the three chosen dates after the charging period ended at 7/8pm on Friday evening, and re-attending before the charging period started at 8/9am on Sunday morning and unfortunately this is not practicable.
We would always advise visitors to the car parks to look at the notice board each time they use the car park in case any changes have been made to the procedures since their last visit. (12/12/2018)
