A WOMAN has expressed her relief after the fine which she and her husband received after parking in Rhyl without a ticket on Armistice Day (November 11) was cancelled.
Susan Steed was aggrieved that she received a fine from Premier Park Ltd after parking at the Sun Verge pub car park for Rhyl’s Armistice Day service at the town’s Remembrance Gardens.
Susan is from Staffordshire, but she and her husband have a holiday home at Sunnyvale, Kinmel Bay, and was staying there at the time.
The couple faced a fine, which they received on November 17, of up to £100 after being parked there for 21 minutes.
She told the Journal yesterday (November 22): “I know it’s pay and display, but we were only going to be there for a few minutes, and it never occurred to us that we were expected to pay out of season, or for such stays on such a significant day.
“We were only there for 21 minutes, just to watch the memorial event, but now Premier Park has issued us with a parking fine.
“It was a shock to receive a fine; it’s not in the spirit of remembrance. All of those people fought and died for our freedom, and yet someone is imposing fines on people who just want to honour the dead.
“We’re both pensioners, and our parents did national service in the war, and every year we go to be there (at a service) on Remembrance Day, but this time it’s left a sour taste in the mouth.
“It (fine) was £100, but if you pay within 14 days it’s £60. We’ve not paid it yet – my husband says he’ll pay it and we won’t ever spend any money in Rhyl again, but that’s not the point.
“We don’t think they should be charging people to attend a remembrance service, which is what they’ve effectively done.
“November 11 is an important day for those who want to honour our servicemen and women. Fewer and fewer of us do so each year, and now, I know why.”
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After being contacted by the Journal, Premier Park confirmed that it had cancelled their fine.
A spokesperson for Premier Park said: “On this occasion, as a gesture of goodwill and in light of the information provided, we have chosen to cancel this penalty charge notice.”
Susan commended the company after it “did the right thing” in this instance.
She added: “It’s good news. You shouldn’t be penalised for going to an event such as that.
“Perhaps we should have been more aware of the fact that you have to pay to park there, but it just didn’t occur to us, on such a day, at that time, when you can’t really be doing anything else, that they should issue a fine.
“But then, it’s done by a computer, and I suppose computers don’t think like we do. When it was brought to their attention, they did the right thing.
“We’re going to be a lot more cautious about parking in future.”
Attempts were also made to contact Sun Verge.
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