Car Parking enforcement carried out by Wealden District Council is done so in accordance with the Off Street Parking Order 2015 made under the Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984.
We are responsible for enforcement in the car parks that are owned, maintained and managed by the Council, along with some privately owned car parks. You can view the car parks owned and/or managed by the Council in our Car Park Directory. We do not cover on-street parking (public highway) or other private car parks.
An Excess Charge Notice (ECN) is issued when a breach of the Parking Order has taken place.
How much does it cost to park in Wealden Car Parks?
Good news. Almost all of Wealden’s Car Parks are completely free to park in, so long as you are within the rules. There are just a few in the South of the District that operate a pay and display system and that is because of the extremely limited amount of parking bays at these locations.
There are no cameras in the car park, how do you monitor length of stay?
Not all Wealden owned car parks operate an ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) camera system, some are monitored by our Community Officers who will periodically check the car park throughout the day to ensure all visitors are adhering to the rules of that particular car park.
Community Officers will not just monitor length of stay, they are also able to issue ECNs for a breach of the rules such as not parking wholly within a parking bay or parking in a restricted space without the correct identification (e.g. Blue Badge).
Are there special reserved bays in Wealden car parks?
Some of our car parks provide disabled bays for Blue Badge holders (most of these bays do have short time limits, so please check). The Blue Badge scheme does not provide for statutory concessions in Car Parks, so even if you have a Blue Badge, you must not park on yellow lines in car parks. Please use the bays provided.
A few of our car parks in Wealden have parent and child spaces and motorbike bays. Only park in an appropriate bay. If you’re not a Blue Badge holder, you don’t have young children or you’re not parking a motorbike, make sure you don’t use spaces marked out for these motorists.
Why have I been given an ECN (Parking Ticket)?
An Excess Charge Notice (ECN) may be issued when a vehicle is:
- Not parked wholly within a parking bay
- Not of the permitted class (disabled, adult and child or type) of the parking bay
- Left longer than the permitted maximum time
- Returned to the same car park within 3 hours
At Wealden Car Parks where charging applies, we may issue an ECN where:
- No parking ticket (timed payment receipt) is displayed
- The parking ticket is not valid
The car park I parked in is free, why did I get an ECN?
Even though the car park is free of charge there are still certain rules in place that drivers should adhere too, failure to do so could result in an ECN being issued.
The rules of the car park are as follows:
- You must park wholly within a parking bay
- Park in the correct class (disabled, adult and child or type) of the parking bay
- Do not exceed the permitted maximum time allowed for that car park
- Do not return to the same car park within 3 hours of leaving, or as detailed on the signage
How do I pay my ECN?
Pay a parking fine, the Excess Charge Notice (ECN) fine will be reduced to £35 if paid within 14 days. If payment is received after 14 days, the fine will remain at the original cost of £70.
Alternatively, should you feel the ECN was unfairly issued you may wish to appeal a parking fine.
If I am 5 minutes late back to my car will I still get a fine?
We will allow a grace period of up to 10 minutes before issuing an ECN. Make sure you leave the car park no more than 10 minutes after the maximum stay limit clearly visible on the car park signage.
I parked in a 3 hour bay but am going to stay longer, can I move to another space within the car park for another 3 hours?
No, as it is explained in the reasons why you may have been issued an ECN once you leave the bay you have parked in you must not return to that car park for at least another 3 hours, or as detailed on the signage.
Also note that if a car park has different time limits (i.e. 3 hours and 23 hours) you are not permitted to move from the 3 hour section into the 23 hour section to extend your stay. You must leave the car park in its entirety and not just that time limited area.
We are planning a day out in Wealden, is there a list of car parks?
Yes, simply choose where you are going from our Car Park Directory. You can find out how many spaces are at each location, designated bays, time restraints, whether there are toilets and local attraction information.
I wish to make a complaint about the conduct of a Wealden District Council Community Officer.
If your complaint is in regards to what you believe to be an unfair issuing of an ECN then this will be dealt with as an Excess Charge Notice (ECN) appeal and not a formal complaint.
If you feel the conduct of one of our community officers has been rude, obstructive or generally unsatisfactory then you can follow the Council’s formal Complaints Procedure accessed via the link.