NIdderdale Agricultural Society has apologised for confusion caused by sudden changes to parking at Nidderdale Showground car park.
Many people were taken by surprise by the recent introduction of automatic number plate recognition cameras to the car park in Bewerley.
Some were also unaware the annual £12 Pateley Bridge parking permit no longer applied to the showground and they were liable for fines if they continued using the site without paying the daily charge, which ranges from 50p an hour to £1.80 a day.
Pateley’s parking permit traditionally runs from April to April and the decision to change the rules before the current permit has expired drew an angry response from Andrew Murday, the Liberal Democrat county councillor for Pateley Bridge and Nidderdale.
He told the Stray Ferret:
“Whoever is responsible has ridden roughshod over the previous arrangement, which should have been honoured until the end of March.
“People in all good faith bought permits that entitled them to park in the showground car park until then.
“It is a disgrace. People have been blindsided and it’s unfair to issue fines.”
Cllr Andrew Murday
Asked if there had been any consultation on the new system, Cllr Murday said there had been “absolutely none”.
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NIdderdale Agricultural Society, which owns the showground and stages the annual Nidderdale Show, previously leased the car park to Harrogate Borough Council.
‘We don’t receive any revenue from this’
The society published a statement today, which said:
“Due to the council’s 21-year lease ending on the car park, the decision was made to hand over the running of the car park to a private company.
“We also took the decision to keep the charges to exactly the same rate as the council charged.
“We understand that unfortunately some people have prepaid car park passes, which are no longer viable for the showground car park, but these could be used in the other car parks in Pateley Bridge.
“The car park now operates on an ANPR camera system which registers number plates on entry. There is a window of 10 minutes to park, pay or leave. Failure to do this unfortunately results in a fine which in no way is charged by the show society, and who do not receive any revenue from this.
“At present to pay an annual parking pass can be downloaded onto your smart phone or there is a number to ring and pay using card details.
“A card pay machine is to be fitted due hopefully by mid January 2023 to make payment simpler.
“The show society apologises for any confusion.”
Pateley’s annual permit still applies to the town’s Southlands car park, which continues to be operated by Harrogate Borough Council.
A Harrogate Borough Council spokesman said:
“Nidderdale Showground is owned and managed by Nidderdale Agricultural Society so you would need to speak to them regarding the parking system in place.
“Previously we have managed car parking at the showground but this is no longer the case.”