Letter: Ruthless NFDC forgets who it serves over 'egregious' parking ticket

SIR – My daughter, who is disabled, recently received a parking ticket after she and her carer had used a disabled space in Lymington. The car was displaying a blue badge.

However, with a fastidious zeal that most contract lawyers would envy, the parking attendant had scrutinised her blue badge to discover that it had recently expired, and issued a ticket.

My daughter had applied for a replacement badge, but unfortunately, its delivery had been delayed by the recent pandemic.

Understandably disappointed to have received a ticket on this most tenuous of technicalities, she assumed that an explanatory letter of appeal would resolve the matter.

She is partially sighted but felt it was worth the trouble of writing because surely, once aware of the facts, the council would reconsider.

But amazingly, after giving the matter “careful consideration,” the parking administration department of NFDC decided to enforce the fine.

Executing a Kafkaesque swerve around morality, the individual responsible for said consideration justifies the council’s decision by stating that she or he views the ticket as “valid”.

Manifestly, this is not about enforcing the minutiae of rules but their purpose – namely, enabling those disadvantaged by disabilities to access the town’s shops and other services more easily.

Lamentably, it would appear that NFDC is suffering from the identity crisis afflicting a number of public bodies. They appear to have forgotten that they are there to serve residents, and have morphed into a ruthless commercial entity desperately engaged in clawing in every last penny of revenue, even from those most disadvantaged.

Needless to say, NFDC’s letter is neither signed legibly, nor with the name of any individual stated.

For after all, who could bring themselves to accept personal responsibility for taking such an egregious position?

Adam Turner,
Lymington