Tesco car park row as mum fined £70 for exceeding parking limit while shopping with her son
A Newport mum has been hit with a £70 fine after spending just 20 minutes over the permitted parking time whilst Christmas shopping at Tesco Spytty.
Bea Hart was shopping with her son at the Newport superstore last week when she exceeded the one-hour parking limit that applies after 8pm.
“I can’t actually get my head around it,” Hart said after receiving the penalty notice.
The fine was issued despite Hart shopping during the store’s regular opening hours, with the Spytty Road branch operating from 6am to midnight daily, except for Sundays.
The supermarket employs ANPR cameras to monitor vehicle parking duration, with different time allowances throughout the day.
Between 6am and 8pm, customers can park for up to three hours at the Newport store.
However, stricter restrictions apply in the evening, with just one hour permitted between 8pm and midnight.
Even tighter limits are enforced after midnight, when drivers have only 15 minutes before facing a penalty.
These measures are part of an automated enforcement system using number plate recognition technology to track vehicles entering and leaving the car park.
The strict parking measures were implemented following a history of car-related anti-social behaviour at the site.
In October 2019, Gwent Police sergeant Christopher Back announced they would work with Tesco to find solutions after repeated reports of dangerous driving.
The car park had become a popular spot for “boy racers” and car meets, particularly on Sunday evenings.
A black Vauxhall Corsa crashed into a bollard in September 2019 highlighting the ongoing issues.
Initial police patrols proved ineffective, with offenders simply changing their meeting times.
Even the installation of a barrier failed to prevent unauthorised access to the car park.
Police have since installed warning posters throughout the site, reminding drivers they are under surveillance.
The preventative measures appear to have succeeded in their primary goal, with reports of car meets and racing now rare at the location.
However, regular shoppers say they feel unfairly impacted by the strict time limits.
Many customers believe the high-tech cameras and parking restrictions were a “last resort” to combat anti-social behaviour.
But they now complain they are “winding up with expensive fines” as a result.
A Tesco spokesperson defended the measures, stating: “It is important to us that all our customers can find a space when they visit our stores, and parking limits at the Newport Spytty Extra are in place to allow us to better manage spaces.”