Family's parking permits wrongly taken away again

The family faced the same issue in 2021

A mother has labelled a council "clueless" after it wrongly refused her 17-year-old daughter a parking permit - and then asked for her's back as well.

Kirsty Jones, 48, applied on behalf of learner driver Hollie for an extra pass to park outside the family's terraced home in Mill Road, Gillingham.

But not only did Medway Council refuse the application for her daughter's new car, it then said previously issued permits to other family members were null and void.

Medway Council has since reversed its decision and apologised, but Ms Jones had the same issue in 2021.

The council, which confirmed Ms Jones was entitled to a permit, said: "We apologise for administrative errors which led to the original permit application being denied, and will review processes to ensure they are not repeated."

The authority previously said the family did not live in a controlled parking zone (CPZ).

Same problem

Ms Jones said: "It always seems to be my house. My neighbours don't seem to have the same problem."

She added: "I don't think I'm asking for much. I just want to apply for a permit, pay for it, and in a year, renew it. That's all I want."

Back in 2021, Ms Jones was hit with the same problem after trying to renew the permit she had for more than 20 years, with the council again saying she should not have been issued one in the first place as she was outside the CPZ.

However, with the help of her then-local councillor, the council accepted it had made a mistake and said it would add a note to her permit records so it would not happen again.

There are signs near Ms Jones' home saying CPZs are in force.

The zones are areas where on-street parking is controlled during specified times.

The council's online interactive map shows her house as outside the zone, but the original designs from 2013 include the whole road, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) says.