This story in the news feed reports on how shop traders in the town of Crewkerne in Somerset are having their businesses destroyed by the local council.
There is a 30-minute parking limit – stupidly short in the first place – and yet wardens are parking for up to TWO HOURS while they hurry meet their quotas and try to ticket as many people as possible each day.
The Somerset County Council appears to be staffed by the usual crop of idiots. A spokeswoman says that wardens are “following the rules”.
Yes. That would be the rules set by the council, and which the council could change in the blink of an eye if it so wished. But it doesn’t want to change the rules, because that would cut revenue from PCNs. She adds:
There are circumstances where wardens are permitted to park in limited waiting zones and other restricted areas in order to carry out their duties.
So in other words, one rule for the council, and another for the common people. She doesn’t explain how the dire consequences of a member of the public overstaying their time is in any way less dangerous or inconsiderate than a spotty-faced oik employed by them would be.
It was exactly the same up this way when the Nottinghamshire County Council took over responsibility for parking tickets. The day it began, wardens were queued up like a pack of hyenas outside the now-defunct West Bridgford test centre trying to ticket people using the test centre.
Even today, most of them ride around on L-plated scooters as they scour every side road and alleyway, and they frequently ride like complete lunatics. I suppose you have to if you’re going to meet your weekly quota for people who have to be screwed out of their money on behalf of the Council.