Council admits mistake after ‘complete chaos leaves drivers paying for parking

Bedford Borough Council admitted that an administrative issue was the cause of overnight charges issued to drivers at council-owned car parks.

Drivers were shocked to discover a £2 fee alongside a £2 Sunday parking charge after they were rolled out at the beginning of the year.

But, following a backlash from motorists, officials removed the charges and apologised for the error.

Councillor Jim Weir told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “The 900 entries on the fees and charges [spreadsheet] got a little bit confused at some point. Therefore, the parking was showing as overnight at £2; we categorically stated again that it will not be charged. That would be removed because it was erroneous.”

When asked about how the error went unnoticed by the council, Cllr Weir claimed it was “because it’s nearly a thousand-entry line spreadsheet”.

He added: “If you ever go and look at the report and start scrolling through the fees and charges, it’s page after page after page. All the words said no, but the numbers appeared, and they were passed down through officers, and they acted on it.”

He also noted that “as soon as the first person shouted, we realised there was an error somewhere”.

Cllr Weir added: “We didn’t U-turn, it wasn’t a conspiracy, it wasn’t a mayoral pet project.

“It was an error, they do happen, and I apologise because it is under my watch because I’m the portfolio holder so it was my error.”

The authority had reportedly previously blamed a “discrepancy” for the error.

Earlier this week, Mayor Tom Wootton clarified the issue on Facebook. He posted an apology and added that he hoped the error could be rectified quickly, including issuing refunds.

He wrote: “Mistakes can occur in any organisation, and when they do, it is essential to take responsibility. As Leader of the Borough, I take full responsibility for the error that suggested a £2 charge for car parking on Sundays. This was an oversight and will be corrected at the earliest opportunity.

“I believe in accountability and transparency. Rather than attributing blame to junior officers, I acknowledge that neither I, the Executive Councillors, nor the other Councillors who voted on this measure identified the mistake.”

The Mayor also confirmed that Sunday parking will remain free at all council-owned car parks and hoped that anyone impacted by the error “was minimal”.

A spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats said that, while the reversal has been welcomed and the council did promise to refund those fined, “what about refunding all the people who paid the £2 when they didn’t need to?”

They added that the confusion had been “complete chaos”, and that it was not a “discrepancy” to change car parking machines and signs to introduce a Sunday fee.

A Bedford Borough spokesperson told GB News: “We are aware of a discrepancy in the fees and charges update that took effect on January 1 2025 regarding both overnight and Sunday parking charges. The update mentioned a £2 charge from January 1 2025 but we want to clarify that the Council’s Executive confirmed on 20 November 2024 that Sunday parking remains free throughout 2025, and that the evening parking charges will also remain the same as they were in 2024.

“If you received a parking fine for using a car park overnight or on Sunday January 5, please contact us to resolve the issue. We will then investigate and cancel the fine where appropriate.

“For users of the car parks who have paid for overnight parking and parking on Sunday 5 January (£2 payment), please contact parking services before January 31 2025 with proof (car parking ticket or digital receipt paid by phone/bank card) should you wish to have a refund. After this date no further refunds will be issued.”