Hundreds of motorists who received a parking fine from a road in Swansea will be reimbursed because a warning sign there was found to be three inches short of the legal height.
This decision affects up to 320 tickets, which were issued to drivers who parked in a loading bay in Burrows Place near Swansea Museum since September.
The events that led to this refunding began when Swansea councillor Sybil Crouch challenged the legality of the warning sign on Burrows Place, after she received a £70 fine for parking there.
Ms Crouch, who represents the electoral ward of Castle, challenged the sign as an individual rather than as a councillor. She also made a Freedom of Information request to determine how many other motorists were fined previously because they parked in the same loading bay.
She complained that she didn’t see the “usual” warning signs at Burrows Place. Upon review by Swansea Council, it was discovered that the warning sign at Burrows Place was technically too short to be considered adequate.
The council has therefore ceased enforcing in this location until the sign is changed and will refund all 320 recipients of a notice in this area, since the sign has never been valid.
Swansea Council has issued an apology for the confusion caused by the sign error and commented that the loading bay “currently operates on a 24/7 basis”. They added that it would write to affected motorists to sort out repayments.
