More than 300 fines handed out in North East Lincolnshire to drivers stopping outside schools
That's for over a three month period at four schools in the area
A whopping 339 penalty charge notices (PCNs) were issued between July 1 and September 30, 2023, to drivers illegally stopping outside four North East Lincolnshire schools.
New data on North East Lincolnshire Council’s CCTV-enabled penalty fines crackdown on illegal stopping outside schools will be considered at the Economy Scrutiny Panel this week. Since September 2022, the council has gradually installed enforcement cameras outside a host of schools to tackle illegal stopping and dangerous parking.
The 339 PCNs were issued for illegal stopping in the summer outside Signhills Academy in Cleethorpes, Old Clee Primary Academy, Welholme Academy in Grimsby, and Queen Mary Infant and Nursery School, Cleethorpes.
Stanford Junior & Infants School in Laceby, Scartho Infants School, and Waltham Leas Primary Academy, joined in September the four other schools in having the CCTV coverage. No fines are issued in the first two weeks when the camera systems come in. On 40 occasions in the first fortnight they were in operation, parents and guardians got warning notices at the Laceby, Scartho and Waltham schools.
Cllr Ron Shepherd, portfolio holder for safer and stronger communities at North East Lincolnshire Council, said:
“We’ve seen a really positive improvement in road safety since the scheme was introduced in September 2022.” The scheme’s aim was to make spaces around school much safer for children and their parents, and improve driver behaviour.
“The scheme set out to make the spaces around schools much safer for children and their parents, and to improve driver behaviour. Whilst we are seeing a number of fines continuing to be issued due to drivers not parking as the restrictions require, we have seen a change in how people drop-off and collect their children.
“At Signhills Academy for example, we initially saw a number of fines issued, but since then that has dropped as people have changed their behaviour, and this is something we’re hoping to continue to see at other sites. School staff have told us it is making a huge difference and we have witnessed more people walking their children to school in some areas which is a real positive.”
The cameras automatically detect and enforce parking breaches at the keep clear signs outside the schools. Drivers caught stopping on the yellow zig zag lines will receive a £70 penalty charge notice. This is reduced to £35 if paid within 14 days. Four per cent of the 339 PCNs issued in the summer were subsequently cancelled.
The data is contained in a recently published regeneration partnership report by the council and its partner Equans, covering the July to September 2023 period.