Ecclesall Road: Unauthorised Sheffield car park faces enforcement - but £100 'fines' are valid, boss insists

A Sheffield car park boss has defended operating a site that is facing an enforcement enquiry and insisted all £100 ‘fines’ issued to motorists are valid.

Ashley Kelly, of Bank Park, said he had an agreement with the landowner to operate the plot on Ecclesall Road and did not need planning permission to issue invoices to motorists.

The rules relied on contract law, which motorists accepted by entering, he added.

He did not disclose how many had been sent £100 demands since it opened, or give the name of the landowner. Photos online show it has been operating since at least May last year.

The site is the subject of a ‘live enforcement enquiry’ by Sheffield City Council.

Mr Kelly said: “Planning permission is not necessary for tickets to be valid. We will not be refunding any unless there is a valid reason.”

Bank Park has applied for retrospective planning permission, he added, which he was “quietly confident” of obtaining.

A Sheffield City Council spokesperson said planning permission had not been granted and the car park was the subject of a ‘live enforcement enquiry’.

They added: “We have informed the owner that planning permission is required and, if applications are not forthcoming, we may take enforcement action.”

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Bank Park has access to motorists’ addresses from the DVLA because it is a member of trade body International Parking Community. The IPC has a code of conduct which states ‘operators must ensure all their operatives, servants or agents always maintain a professional standard of behaviour when carrying out their duties and comply with the rule of law at all times’.

Chris Naylor, membership and operations manager, said: “Complaints received by the IPC are investigated accordingly and if we find that there has been a breach of the IPC Code of Practice the relevant sanctions are applied in line with the sanctions scheme.”

The IPC is funded by members including Bank Park.

The DVLA did not comment. It sent information stating it only gives addresses to parking companies that are members of an ‘accredited trade association’ - the IPC in this case. 

And it relies on the IPC to ‘monitor adherence to the code of practice’ and ‘address non-compliance when it arises’.

Private parking firms issue Parking Charge Notices, which sound similar to Penalty Charge Notices issued by the council and police, they also have the same initials: PCN. But many argue they are simply invoices for allegedly breaching a parking company’s terms and conditions.

Citizens Advice states: "The Parking Charge Notice might look like an official fixed penalty from the police but it isn't one."

Ageco.co.uk, part of charity Age UK, states: "Although parking charge notices are sometimes referred to as ‘fines’, it is often argued it is simply an invoice requesting payment in what has been perceived as a breach of agreement between a car park operator and the driver.”