My recent experience with Keswick's poorly signed Disc Zone scheme is a warning to potential visitors to Keswick.

In doing so, it's been suggested that I've detracted from the otherwise positive aspects of this site and may, in some people's eyes, lessen my credibility, also displaying signs of becoming a bit of  a 'grumpy old man';  If that be the case, then I sincerely apologise but do we sit back and accept indiscriminate parking fines or speak out - I  choose the latter.

I know of 3 other instances where parking fines have been unjustly imposed:

1. When parking in a near deserted car park, a motorist's wheel was slightly over the white line used to define individual parking bays; he was parked on the end of a deserted line of parking spaces BUT received a parking fine nevertheless.

2. In a full car park, a visitor parked on a grass section having bought and paid for his ticket; there was nothing to suggest that parking on the grass was prohibited; he also received a parking fine.

3. And, like myself, a resident of Keswick parked in a previously 1 hour parking bay without realising that it had been changed to Disk Parking - he also received a parking fine.

I therefore felt it appropriate to feature this as a warning to potential visitors to Keswick so that they can exercise due caution when parking - WATCH OUT, the traffic wardens are out to catch you.

Incidentally, I read in the Allerdale 'Have your say' forums that it costs £500,000 to collect £550,000 worth of parking fines each year which by my reckoning means that, to cover their administration charges, they have to impose at least 16,667 parking fines every year; perhaps that accounts for why appeals are unsuccessful - they are under pressure to maintain a predetermined minimum number of fines.

During June 2005, I parked in Borrowdale Road, which to the best of knowledge was, and has always been, restricted to 1 hour. On our return, well within the 1 hour limitation, I discovered a parking permit attached to the windscreen for failure to display a disc meter in the windscreen.  I had not realised that Keswick had introduced a disc parking scheme; had I known this, I would have used the disc meter that I keep in the car when visiting Ambleside where there are clear bright yellow signs alerting visitors to the changes – BUT no such HELPFUL warnings for visitors in Keswick.

I was convinced that a mistake had been made and returned to Borrowdale Road to discover that parking had changed; we had actually parked right against a newly placed sign which is placed on top of what must be a 10 to 12 foot pole and well beyond normal vision when you alight from your vehicle. There were in fact 2 others signs; 1 virtually hidden behind the foliage of a hedge & the other partially hidden.

I had made a genuine mistake. There was no intent to park illegally. There was no intent to deprive the local authority of any revenue – it’s still limited to 1 hour and free.

During the morning that I approached Borrowdale Road, I followed a juggernaut reversing back up the road at slow speed. The view ahead was restricted both by the tall vehicle & branches from trees that suitably overhang the road & obscure the disc zone sign. Rather than continue around Crow Park to park in the main car park, I took the first spot which from memory was limited to 1 hour parking.

I thought that under the circumstances i.e. obscured sign, 10 to 12 feet above the pavement & not obvious, no signs on entering Keswick that disk zone metering was in force, that Allerdale Borough Council would consider my appeal with due consideration and apply leniency by withdrawing the parking permit once they were aware if the circumstances.

No such luck. All I received was a standard reply, not even the courtesy of responding to the points raised in my letter.

I spoke with Cumbria County Council who allegedly are responsible for the parking in Keswick and was treated with utter rudeness; the person that I spoke to who I will not name for legal reasons would not listen and consistently talked over me. He did say that unlike Ambleside, disc zone parking had been in force for some time and there was no need to place yellow warning signs on the access points to Keswick – we have NEVER seen any in all the years that we visit during March, June & September.

I also note from reading Allerdale Borough Council’s 'Have your say' forums on the subject that other unsuspecting motorists  have also been caught in much the same way.

Overall, I’m very disappointed from the experienced, particularly the total lack of consideration to what was an honest mistake; call it 'sour grapes' but I have vowed NEVER to use municipal car parks in Cumbria ever again as a mark of protest thus depriving Allerdale Borough Council of any revenue from me - if you don't park in their car parks, then they can't 'fabricate' a Penalty Notice.

Keswick business's have been so disturbed by the bad publicity around the confusion over disc parking that they have subsequently fitted dispensers to the Disk Zone Parking poles complete with Disc Meters for use by visitors.

The hedge in Borrowdale Road has been cut right back to reveal the Parking signs but alas the height of the signs have not been reduced to a more sensible and easily visible height.

I don't suppose that Allerdale Borough Council have refunded anyone for their honest mistake - too much to expect.  And yes, my boycott of municipal car parks continues.