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Michael Al Alam of Zen Stores, right, with fellow traders Dinos Theocharis and Michael Audisho, overlooked by the CCTV camera |
‘Parking fines CCTV camera could put us out of business’
Shopkeepers complain that their customers are being
targeted for £60 tickets
TRADERS in a Bayswater street claim a CCTV camera is killing their businesses by hitting customers with parking fines.
Shop owners in Moscow Road are calling on parking chiefs to remove the camera.
Since its installation nine months ago, some motorists say they have been slapped with £60 fines for stopping outside the parade for just a matter of minutes.
The camera has become the bugbear of residents after it was caught snooping through a bedroom window in June.
Dinos Theocharis, manager of Athenia Grocers which opened in 1952, said: “Our customers come from all over the place.
“They’re prepared to pay the congestion charge but the fine is too much – they’re stopping coming.”
Michael Audisho, owner of now-empty Archie Food Store in Moscow Road, said “Business has been halved.
“All my customers are getting tickets and not coming back – some of them are even demanding money from me.”
The shopkeepers are also angry at what they perceive as a money-making ruse for City Hall.
While Westminster Council claims the camera is predominately for security purposes, shop owners and residents are angry that it is being used to issue parking tickets.
When £2,000 of damage was caused by vandals to a neighbouring restaurant, the camera failed to help identify the perpetrator during the investigation.
Waiting restrictions are in place on the road from 8.30am-6.30pm Monday to Friday, and until 1.30pm on Saturday.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Kevin Goad, the council’s assistant director of parking, said: “We understand that parking in London can be confusing and are working hard to improve road users’ understanding of the rules.
“However, it is imporant to stress that while motorists are permitted to stop on a yellow line if they are seen to be loading or unloading, it is not permitted to park on a yellow line during controlled hours.”
In June, the council’s privacy restrictions came under fire when a Freedom of Information request revealed the camera zoomed in towards a bedroom window.
Neighbours have previously been assured that the rotating camera, which is manned by operators in the council’s CCTV centre in Lisson Grove, would automatically blur out when passing over residential rooms.
More than 10 per cent of all penalty charges – £5million a year – are issued as a result of the council’s 261 cameras. |
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