15 April 2017
A new salvo has opened up in the long-running controversy over car parking at Earlham House shopping centre. Bellgold Properties (1) owners of the car park intend charging for parking from 1st June.
Yesterday (13 April) notices went up on display at the shopping centre stating:
Please be notified that this parking area is to become a pay on foot car park from or around the 1st June 2017. (2) The parking areas and pay station will be monitored by 24hr CCTV. (3) 10 minutes free parking will be permitted for deliveries and collection.
Earlham House freehold was recently sold by Bellgold Properties Ltd to Castelnau. However, Bellgold retained the car parks which are subject to controversial enforcement by private parking firm, National Parking Enforcement Ltd, (NPE Ltd) based at Wymondham. NPE Ltd uses CCTV to churn out parking charge notices to drivers visiting Earlham House, most of which relate to parking one tyre on a white line for a few minutes or else notices wrongly issued to disabled drivers.
Councillor Denise Carlo, a Green Party city councillor for Nelson ward said:
“This is terrible news. If these punitive parking charges go ahead, they would kill off Earlham House shops which provide an important facility for the community. The traders can’t operate on the basis of ten minutes for deliveries and their customers would stay away. It is likely that local residents would be swamped by parking on their streets.”
Councillor Denise Carlo has urgently contacted the new property management company, Inspired Property Management to recommend action by the new owners over the imposition of parking charges, otherwise Earlham House will suffer a downturn in trade and lose its value.
