Parking rules are bad news says Brighton newsagent

Magdi Bols outside his shop in Western Road Buy this photo » Magdi Bols outside his shop in Western Road

A newsagent claims “unfair” parking rules are forcing him to pay a fine every week.

Magdi Bols, the manager of Yummies in Western Road, says he cannot get back to unload his goods before 11am on Wednesdays and Fridays.

This year Brighton and Hove City Council installed CCTV cameras on the busy shopping street to catch anyone who illegally parks between 11am and 6pm.

Mr Bols said: “I haven’t got time to get back from the cash and carry before 11am so I get a ticket every time. I’ve started parking on the other side of the road to avoid being fined but it’s really dangerous when I’m carrying heavy goods.

“I just don’t understand why they don’t give a waiver to businesses who need it. In tough times the council should be helping businesses not making things worse.”

A spokeswoman for Brighton and Hove City Council said: “The restrictions take into account the need for business owners to make and accept deliveries which is why loading is permitted between 9.30am and 11am and after 6pm in the evening.

“Most traders find these hours are acceptable.”

Comments(12)

kerryfee says...
11:12am Thu 20 Sep 12

Does the shop not have a rear entrance?

spa301 says...
11:28am Thu 20 Sep 12

If the main Brighton cash and carry opens at 7.30 am how is Mr Bols unable to unload before 11 am? Until that is explained it's hard to have too much sympathy.

leobrighton says...
12:38pm Thu 20 Sep 12

Do most traders find these hours acceptable or is this a lie? I suspect most traders have decided they don't want to be fined every day so they have no choice.

graham_Seagull says...
12:51pm Thu 20 Sep 12

I suspect this guy needs to be at his shop for the pre-work 'rush hour' and then needs to scarper off to the cash and carry when it quietens down a tad. In that part of Western Road I think that shop is fairly unique as it's a newsagents/ booze/ fags shop, so his pattern of work is possibly different to the others.

The council should ask him questions to find out how they can help instead of issuing bland statements. Another example of hiding behind a bland statement.

rolivan says...
1:07pm Thu 20 Sep 12

Those double yellows have been there for a while why all of a sudden is there a problem.I would think that there isn't much that is sold in the shop that weighs that much that can't be put on a trolley and wheeled across the road.You might need to employ somebody for an extra hour which might be the real problem here.

Ihopenoonehasthisusername says...
1:27pm Thu 20 Sep 12

No sympathy. Employ someone extra or manage your time better.

graham_Seagull says...
1:35pm Thu 20 Sep 12

rolivan wrote:
Those double yellows have been there for a while why all of a sudden is there a problem.I would think that there isn't much that is sold in the shop that weighs that much that can't be put on a trolley and wheeled across the road.You might need to employ somebody for an extra hour which might be the real problem here.
now there's a good point...

If the ticket is £40 and he gets one every time then he's better off employing someone for a couple of hours each time to save the cash

Fairfax Sakes says...
2:59pm Thu 20 Sep 12

it says on the picture "buy this photo". Beautiful piece of art, I can just see it over my mantlepience

BiggerH says...
4:39pm Thu 20 Sep 12

so he doesn't want to park illegally outside his shop as he'll get a fine, but quite happy to park across the road where it's dangerous (for others, I assume, as well as him)

something's not right here

don't cash & carry places deliver?

davyboy says...
4:55pm Thu 20 Sep 12

rolivan wrote:
Those double yellows have been there for a while why all of a sudden is there a problem.I would think that there isn't much that is sold in the shop that weighs that much that can't be put on a trolley and wheeled across the road.You might need to employ somebody for an extra hour which might be the real problem here.
there has always been yellow lines along here, but very rarely enforced. i would employ a trustworthy OAP for an hour or so. why all of a sudden are the council using cameras to enforce restrictions, when, for many years these have been totally ignored by both the police and the parking attendants, especially along the hove end of western road, where the bars and cafes are. cameras should be used all the time to enforce restrictions on major roads, then maybe traffic would flow better.

MurrayMint says...
9:34am Fri 21 Sep 12

Actually it's not about employing another person. Why is everyone on here so quick to judge? What is employing another person going to solve, there are already 3 people working the morning shifts!?

While the cash and carry may open at 7:30am that only leaves Mr Bols' employee roughly 3 hours to get to both cash and carrys that he needs in order to run his business. He needs to buy the goods, load them (once for each cash and carry) and then get back to the shop and unload them. Sorry but that's just not enough time. There is no rear entrance to the shop, and the nearest loading bay is too far to carry the heavy goods from.

The yellow lines have always been there but new parking rules were introduced recently (zigzag lines) enforced by CCTV, and they did not offer the business owner an alternative to load! It is well within his right as he pays business rates of over £15,000 a year! The Greens are complete idiots that pretend to care about the environment but are in fact only costing people more money, and causing anger and frustration for everyone...

Apparently when trying to contact the council to ask for a 30min loading waiver ONCE a week, he was told that the time restrictions work for everyone else and there was nothing they could do and that he should write a letter to his local councilor!!?

davyboy says...
1:44pm Fri 21 Sep 12

MurrayMint wrote:
Actually it's not about employing another person. Why is everyone on here so quick to judge? What is employing another person going to solve, there are already 3 people working the morning shifts!?

While the cash and carry may open at 7:30am that only leaves Mr Bols' employee roughly 3 hours to get to both cash and carrys that he needs in order to run his business. He needs to buy the goods, load them (once for each cash and carry) and then get back to the shop and unload them. Sorry but that's just not enough time. There is no rear entrance to the shop, and the nearest loading bay is too far to carry the heavy goods from.

The yellow lines have always been there but new parking rules were introduced recently (zigzag lines) enforced by CCTV, and they did not offer the business owner an alternative to load! It is well within his right as he pays business rates of over £15,000 a year! The Greens are complete idiots that pretend to care about the environment but are in fact only costing people more money, and causing anger and frustration for everyone...

Apparently when trying to contact the council to ask for a 30min loading waiver ONCE a week, he was told that the time restrictions work for everyone else and there was nothing they could do and that he should write a letter to his local councilor!!?
if the restrictions work for everyone else, then he should ask them how they cope. i understand it is frustrating, but others have clearly adapted to the restrictions. i simply cannot believe he is unable to alter his working practices to cope.

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