Apology for Belper woman who ‘parked illegally’ to stop others parking illegally

Derbyshire County Council has apologised to a woman who was fined for parking in front of her house, despite being told she could by one of their employees. Sarah Pitt was involved in a 14-month saga with the council after becoming frustrated with lorries parking in front of her house on Queen Street in Belper, blocking light from her windows, despite there being yellow lines on the road.

A traffic officer inspected the street and found that the yellow lines weren’t enforceable due to the signs advising of their regulations being too far apart. The officer told Sarah she could park there to prevent lorries from parking there and that she wouldn’t get fined.

But the first time she did it, a warden turned up within ten minutes and slapped her with a ticket. Now, the saga appears to be over, much to Sarah’s delight.

She said: “I’m relieved that some common sense has actually prevailed and that departments not talking to each other has been acknowledged. The apology is very welcome – extremely welcome, actually. I do really appreciate it. The fact that I’ve had to do so much pushing and chasing for it is a shame though because I shouldn’t have had to have done all that really.”

READ MORE: Woman parks car outside home to stop lorries parking illegally – then gets fined for parking illegally

An email sent to Sarah from a Derbyshire County Council employee on June 16, two days after our story on her situation, said: “Dear Ms Pitt, thank you for your emails. I do apologise that we have issued an incorrect Penalty Charge Notice to you. The reason for this was a lack of communication between teams, which I have rectified.

“I have instructed the parking enforcement team to cancel your Penalty Charge Notice with immediate effect. We couldn’t do this immediately as we had no idea which ticket was relevant to your circumstances. If you do receive any further demands for monies with regard to this parking ticket please contact me immediately. I apologise again for the angst we have caused you.”

Derbyshire Live understands that despite the penalty notice being rescinded, double yellow lines or parking permits for residents are not being considered. The process of obtaining permission for either is a lengthy one for any council, as consultations with local residents and emergency services are needed as well as legal backing from a traffic regulation order.

Despite this, Sarah, who said she is “exhausted” after the process, also said she was content with the situation’s outcome and thanked those who had supported her on social media. Her car has been parked outside her house since.

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