People living around Much Woolton Primary School feared they could have goods seized by bailiffs
People living around Much Woolton Primary School feared they could have goods seized by bailiffs
Liverpool Council has apologised to people living near school traffic calming areas after they were incorrectly issued fines for hundreds of pounds. For the past three years, the city council has been expanding a scheme to make school times safer for children and their parents.
The School Streets project is intended to reduce or calm motorised traffic by restricting access to roads close to schools when pupils are being dropped off from 8.15am to 9.15am and picked up from 2.30pm to 3.30pm during term time. Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras are used on these roads to enforce restrictions, however exemptions can apply.
People who live on a School Street or someone who is a carer or a Blue Badge holder who regularly visits a resident on a School Street can apply for an exemption via the council’s website. School staff or parents who have a Blue Badge, or who need to drop off or pick up a child with SEND, can also ask the school to apply for an exemption permit.
Much Woolton Catholic Primary School was one of the first schools to take part in the roll out in 2024. However, people living in the surrounding streets are being penalised, rather than selfish drivers.
This includes Toni Langley, on nearby Priory Way, who has a long list of complaints about the project including confusing signs, unexpected fines, and knock-on traffic causing frustration. She said: “Anyone who goes through the camera is getting a ticket whether they are on the exception list or not. It’s an absolute shocking mess.
“They cancelled my tickets but nobody actually told me, I’ve been left waiting in limbo thinking they were going to come and take my car away. It’s harassment of us living in our street.
“I moved here about a year ago and got put on the exemption list. At the start of March I got a letter saying they were coming to seize goods.
“I called up and they said I needed to file documents but I heard nothing back. I tried Liverpool Council who said they would escalate it and heard nothing.
“A few days later, I got a knock on the door and there was a guy trying it, taking pictures and left a letter saying they were seizing goods and immobilising my car. That was a ticket from last year.
“Some people actually paid their penalties to avoid the hassle.” Another resident, who didn’t want to be named, told the ECHO of their experience.
They said: “I registered my car with the council and not long after that I got a notice telling me my car had been photographed and I was getting a £100 fine. I emailed back saying I live in the street.
“I got a letter saying a bailiff was coming to collect the fine, including charges. I paid the fine, which was stupid of me, when I started chasing it up, I got no reply.
“It’s wrong and I wanted reimbursement. I got a terse reply eventually saying the inbox was no longer open to correspondence.
“I just wrote it off in the end, it would have gone on for ever and ever. I didn’t have the time or inclination to fight on, you just cut your losses.”
Earlier this month, Toni was contacted by Liverpool Council enforcement officials after the blunder had been made. In an email, seen by the ECHO, an officer said: “I want to offer my sincere apologies for the distress and inconvenience you have experienced.
“It is clear that we have fallen short at multiple stages in this case regarding incorrect penalty charge notices being issued to you, and we did not provide you with the standard of service you are entitled to and deserve, nor the standard we expect to deliver for all our residents here at Liverpool City Council.
“We take this extremely seriously, and we are already taking steps to ensure we learn from these failures and prevent anything similar from happening again. I would also like to reassure you that all Penalty Charge Notices relating to you have been cancelled.
“Our records also now confirm that these notices were issued entirely in error, and I want to assure you that there will be no further enforcement action of any kind in relation to them.”
A Liverpool Council spokesperson said: “We would like to apologise to residents who have incorrectly received a Penalty Charge Notice which suggested that they may be in breach of our School Streets restrictions. We have been, and are continuing to, take steps to ensure that this does not happen to anyone with a valid camera exemption in the future.”
