Drivers who have received a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN), or paid to park, in the on-street parking in the outskirts of Halifax town centre may now be able to claim a refund from Calderdale Council.
Parking charges were lifted in Halifax town centre on 8 October 2014, after it became clear that some of the Council’s traffic regulation orders (TRO) cannot be legally enforced.
Errors were found in the TRO relating to 20 streets in the central area of Halifax. As a result parking charges were lifted across the whole of the town centre, although initially drivers were only eligible for a refund if they had paid for parking or been issued with a PCN in the 20 affected streets.
Calderdale Council’s Director of Economy and Environment, Ian Gray said:
“There are two TROs covering Halifax town centre. Initially we found errors within the TRO which covers the centre of Halifax. As a result we lifted the parking charges and stopped issuing Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) across the whole of the town centre because we did not want to continue to charge in the outer area until we had checked whether this was also affected.
“Our review of the TRO for the outer areas of Halifax has revealed additional errors which mean that we will accept refund claims from drivers who have received a PCN in these areas.”
Maps showing all of the affected streets and the online claim form can be found at www.calderdale.gov.uk.
Drivers may be eligible for a refund if they have paid to park or received a PCN in any of the pay and display bays in the affected streets or for parking in a restricted area, for example a loading bay or in a disabled bay since January 2014. All claims will be assessed and a refund will be issued if eligible.
Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs) will be patrolling the outer areas of Halifax from Monday 10 November 2014 and will be enforcing parking restrictions where these are still in force, for example where there are limited waiting times, yellow lines and some resident permit bays.
Work is continuing on the new, permanent TRO for Halifax town centre. Council surveyors will begin work on site in Skircoat on Saturday 8 November 2014.