00:00A quick trip to the pharmacy and a £100 fine, despite no signage indicating a change of
00:06policy.
00:07Sittingbourne's Camsons pharmacy customers for decades have been stopping on double yellow
00:11lines at the entrance to an industrial estate to quickly collect medication.
00:16That's until July to October this year, when customers were hit with fines from One Parking
00:22Solution on behalf of the apartment complex next door, Springfield Place.
00:27We've been parking over in the same positions that car is now for 40 years.
00:32Going to the chemist, having been to the doctors and have never had a problem parking.
00:37In July I parked, I was literally there for maybe 1 minute 30 seconds and during that time
00:45they filmed me from the camera up there.
00:48I inadvertently didn't realise that there was a sign, a new sign, and in that 1 minute 30
00:55I got a £100 fine.
00:56Blue badge holders are able to park on double yellow lines for up to 3 hours, yet there
01:01is no signage to indicate blue badge restrictions apply here.
01:05Now I am stood just where people with these blue badges would have parked, just for 5 or
01:1010 minutes to pop into the pharmacy which I can see just over there.
01:14Without this parking option here, just how far would people with mobility issues and blue
01:19badges need to walk to be able to access the pharmacy?
01:23Well, come with me and we'll see.
01:25It might not be a substantial walk for someone able bodied like me, but it's a significantly
01:29longer trip to park in one of the adjacent streets, providing their space in the first
01:34place.
01:35And for blue badge holders who might have mobility issues or have COPD like Mike, you can see
01:40how this could prevent them from accessing the medical care they need.
01:43I was pretty angry because I didn't see any signage at all when I came in.
01:49I've been parking, I've lived in Chittanybourne for 47 years and I've parked here for years,
01:53always done the same thing.
01:55Always put my blue badge up, so I didn't think I'd done anything wrong.
02:00I did appeal it and then I got a letter back saying that the appeal was rejected.
02:07Residents describe temporary signage, but when I got there I saw just the one. Halfway into
02:12the estate, a while away from where residents were being fined.
02:16Campsons Pharmacy explained their patients were unhappy with the situation, having received
02:21many fines, yet due to the charges being enforced by a private company, had little say in the
02:27matter.
02:28We approached One Parking Solution for comment, but they did not get back to us.
02:32But with no final clarity from One Parking Solution, residents like Mike and Ken are simply
02:38left to read between the lines.
02:40Megan Shaw for Kame TV in Sittingbourne.
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