Councillor 'horrified' as Bridgnorth receives most parking tickets since 2017
A Bridgnorth councillor has expressed his "horror" at learning the town has topped the table for the most parking tickets issued over the last three years.
David Cooper, who sits on Bridgnorth Town Council, highlighted the frustration that the mountain of penalty charge notices (PCNs) would have caused to shoppers since 2017.
Councillor Cooper questioned the impression it would give visitors and said Shropshire Council should review its parking measures in the town to alleviate the problem.
It comes after figures released by Shropshire Council revealed Bridgnorth to have the most ticketed car park as well as the most ticketed stretch of road in the county.
The log of all PCNs handed out by council enforcement officers showed 1,030 fines were issued in Listley Street North Car Park between October 2017 and October 2020.
It means the 91-space car park saw more tickets handed out than even the county’s largest car park, Frankwell in Shrewsbury.
It also stated that Bridgnorth High Street was the most ticketed stretch of road, racking up close to 2,000 PCNs over the same period.
This compares to just 1,028 tickets handed out in Shrewsbury's Frankwell Main, Quay and Riverside car parks combined.
Councillor Cooper, who represents Castle ward, said: "I was horrified to read that once again Bridgnorth tops the Shropshire league for the number of parking penalties issued – both in the Listley Street North Car Park and on High Street.
"Over the last three years more than 3,000 tickets have been issued to motorists parking in Bridgnorth. While it's right that people should obey the rules, that is a lot of people coming into our town experiencing the irritation and inconvenience of getting a parking ticket."
The lack of parking in Bridgnorth is not unbeknown to councillors, with Shropshire Council promising to draw up measures to alleviate the problem at a cabinet meeting in the summer.
"It surely can’t be good for the impression the town gives visitors," Councillor Cooper added.
"I’d like to see Shropshire Council looking at why they seem to be issuing a very high number of parking tickets in Bridgnorth and what can be done to make it easier for motorists to park conveniently without the risk of a penalty.”
Turning the public car park in Bridgnorth's Innage Lane into a multi-storey was one option being considered by councillors, alongside improvements to public transport.
