Porsche owners’ defiant stand as double yellow lines stand-off heats up
Jill Stanforth, pictured with her daughter Sophie Desouky, 11 months, is refusing to pay for parking fines after she parked her car on Finkelgate before double yellow lines were painted.Picture: ANTONY KELLY - Credit: Archant
On the one side are the owners of a Porsche Cayenne who fear they will lose their parking space if they move it. On the other is Transport for Norwich which has painted double yellow lines either side of the vehicle as part of a multi-million-pound overhaul of the city's streets.
Jill Stanforth is refusing to pay for parking fines after she parked her car on Finkelgate before double yellow lines were painted.Picture: ANTONY KELLY - Credit: Archant
Jill Stanforth, 33, says she and her partner, Gareth Desouky, 41, both residents of Finkelgate, will not move the car despite having received £280 in parking tickets.
The couple say they received no warning about the changes but Transport for Norwich says those affected were written to and informed of the proposals and alternative parking provision.
Ms Stanforth said: 'We went to work one day and we came back and the double yellow lines appeared. We've never had any official warning from the council. They've not sent us a letter, they've not put anything through our letter box to give us any alternative parking.'
The couple have received four parking tickets this week. They say they have appealed against three of the tickets and will appeal against the final one tomorrow.
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'We don't mean to be awkward, we just want help in finding our permitted place to park. If we knew this was the situation we'd never have moved there in the first place.'
Another Finkelgate resident, Claire Walker, 30, who bought her house a few months before the roadworks began, said: 'We wouldn't have bought the house if we'd known.'
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The Porsche is now rarely used by the couple and Ms Stanforth said: 'We don't drive it, otherwise we'll lose our parking.'
She said she had not considered the possibility of her car being towed away.
Transport for Norwich said: 'Those directly affected were written to with details of the proposals and replacement parking provision, as well as how to comment.
'Additional publicity was carried out in the area ahead of work starting, including site notices explaining the new traffic regulation orders and a public information notice to households near the site.
'We feel that fair warning of the changes was given and that the meaning of the new road markings is clear so enforcement action has been taken as a last resort.'
