THE MP for Vale of Clwyd, James Davies, has created an online survey to gather information about constituents’ experiences about a controversial public car park in Rhyl.

Morfa Hall car park, on Church Street, has been run by Smart Parking Ltd since November 2018.

But across numerous articles this year, the Journal  has reported residents complaining of various issues with the car park, including:

  • Parking fine tickets being issued automatically based on automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras.
  • Its positioning adjacent to the disability parking at Rhyl Library, which is operated by Denbighshire County Council.
  • Faulty ticket machines.

Residents have previously accused Smart Parking to the Journal of being "greedy" and handing out "unfair" fines.

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Having been contacted by a number of his constituents on the matter, Dr Davies has now launched a survey about Morfa Hall car park on his website.

You can find the survey at: www.jamesdavies.org.uk/campaigns/parking-charge-notices-morfa-hall-car-park.

Dr Davies said: “Over the past few years, I have been approached by a number of constituents regarding parking charge notices (PCNs) they have received.

“Regrettably, there are certain car parks where greater problems are reported; Morfa Hall is one particular such car park.

“While I have been assisting constituents in challenging contested PCNs individually, I have compiled a survey to gather more information about difficulties encountered at this car park, to inform my future actions.

“I would encourage people to complete the survey if they have experienced what they consider to be an unfair PCN at Morfa Hall car park.”

Dr Davies added that he is pleased that the Government has recognised a “wider issue” with the actions of some private parking companies.

The Government has now published a “call for evidence” to support the development of a private parking code of practice.

This can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/private-parking-code-of-practice-call-for-evidence.

He added: “I am putting together a letter to submit detailing some of the issues my constituents have encountered through private parking companies.

“If you would like me to submit particular points of view, please email me at james.davies.mp@parliament.uk.

“As ever, If feel you have received an unfair PCN, and have not yet paid it, then please do email james.davies.mp@parliament.uk and I would be happy to make representations on your behalf.”

In response, a spokesperson for Smart Parking said the company would be “happy to meet” with Dr Davies to discuss the matter further.

Morfa Hall car park has been owned by Gamlins Law since it bought the land from Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA) in October 2020.

A Smart Parking spokesperson said: “James Davies is yet to contact us directly.

“However, we would be happy to meet with him if he does want to reach out to us and look into any charges he thinks may have been issued incorrectly.

“It is important to say that Smart Parking are members of the British Parking Association and strictly follow all its guidelines.

“We were brought into manage the car park at Morfa Hall to stop parking abuse and to ensure people are treated equally.  

“We feel we have achieved this and hundreds of people use the car park we manage without any issue every single day.

“At the Morfa Hall car park there are numerous signs that clearly set out the terms and conditions of use, and we would remind any motorist that when driving into the car park to read these before deciding to park.”

Dr Davies disputed Smart Parking's claim that he has not yet contacted the company directly.