Residents of famous seaside town are furious over parking fines, pleading: ‘Stop before we scare away all the tourists’

More than 1,000 tickets were handed out in Bournemouth last year, and the council is seeking approval to increase the charges even further.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in Dorset say tougher sanctions will help reduce illegal parking in their towns.

But locals say the increase will scare away tourists, who make up a significant part of the region’s economy.

Under the proposals, there will be two levels of parking offences: Minor offences will incur a £50 fine, rising to £70 for serious offences. Fines will be halved if paid within 14 days.

Fines will be enforced using ANPR cameras and drivers who move their vehicles will be issued tickets before a physical ticket is issued.

But one driver from the area told GB News: “The only deterrent will be that we won’t come to Bournemouth at all. As there’s nothing else there the only thing to talk about will be parking.”

Another added: “Have you been to Hampshire recently? You’ll see most of the towns and villages are full of shoppers and tourists. Parking is about half of Bournemouth.”

Chris Farrant, the council’s chief executive, said: “We have been campaigning with the Government for some time and have relaunched it with the new Government.

“Parking fines are at a level very similar to what we charge for a full day in car parks. The fine for tier two parking is £50 or £25 if paid within 14 days and the top tier is £70/£35.

“There is a national view of the level of fines for illegal parking. We are looking at London as an example to see if this has a deterrent effect.

“We’re getting more and more complaints about cars parking illegally. One weekend we issued over 1,000 parking tickets, and that’s not good for anyone because it means cars are parking illegally.”