Thousands of motorists incorrectly fined by council

Reading Borough Council incorrectly issued thousands of fines

A local authority has been forced to apologise after it issued thousands of incorrect parking fines to motorists over an 11-year period.

An investigation by Reading Borough Council found it had incorrectly issued 6,136 penalty charge notices (PCNs) between 2013 and 2024.

The charges were in relation to errors with traffic regulation orders (TROs) in the borough.

Motorists who paid fines relating to the areas affected can claim refunds, along with additional interest, from next week, the council said.

The authority confirmed to the BBC that they may have to reimburse approximately £357,000 to those affected.

Council CEO Jackie Yates apologised for the mistake

The council's chief executive, Jackie Yates, said the authority "sincerely apologised" to people affected by the mistakes.

“Parking enforcement action was suspended as soon as the council became aware of the specific TRO issues and further action is being taken to ensure that the circumstances which led to this situation don't happen again," she continued.

Five areas had been affected by the errors across different time periods, the authority confirmed.

These are:

• Parts of Kings Road and Wokingham Road, between January 2018 and March 2024

• Waldeck Street and Swainstone Road permit parking schemes, between March 2016 and June 2024

• Red Route West, between Tilehurst and West Reading, for a seven-day period in May 2018

• Southcote verge and footway parking ban area, between August 2015 and June 2024

• Tilehurst and Kentwood verge and footway parking ban area, between November 2013 and June 2024.

TROs are legal orders which enable the enforcement of road and traffic management schemes, such as speed limits, vehicle restrictions and parking controls.

The mistakes with the TROs were first spotted by the authority after a staff member reported a defect earlier this year.