Protest over Council's Clamp Down on 'Tsunami' Match Day Parking

Published on Tue 15th Mar 2005

Protest over Council's Clamp Down on 'Tsunami' Match Day Parking

Some residents found themselves with large fines or their cars towed away during the special match at the RFU on March 5th to raise money for tsunami victims. The match was not well publicised and, consequently, some residents were simply not aware that the match was on and only discovered when they were fined by zealous parking wardens.

MP Vincent Cable has written to the council's head of parking asking how many residents were caught by the wardens in the RFU match-day parking zone and has suggested that the council should donate the money to the RFU's tsunami appeal rather than pocket it:

"There are a lot of angry residents in Twickenham and Whitton who were told that the match day parking scheme was to help them but are, in practice, being used to raise revenue for the council".

"This particular match was not properly advertised and residents should be given the benefit of the doubt. One way of demonstrating its good faith would be for the council to donate its fine income for that day to the RFU's tsunami appeal. At least those residents who were caught will have the satisfaction of knowing that the money went to a charitable cause and not to fill the council's coffers".