A bereaved former Dundee man has hit out at Dundee City Council after being given a parking ticket outside his grieving father’s house in Menzieshill.
Bradley Cassidy, whose mother Charlotte died last week, said he was willing to pay the fine but asked for a dispensation to cover the rest of his stay with his dad Bill in Thurso Crescent until after the funeral.
But despite being advised he could apply for one, after speaking to three people at the council’s car park HQ he was told there was nothing they could do. He claims a member of staff even advised him to perform an illegal action.
Bradley, who lives in Wick, said: ”I just think it was ridiculous. I’d just driven for six hours to get down to Dundee and I got the parking ticket.”
He said he went to Gellatly Street to pay the fine, and it turned out he knew the counter assistant.
“She knew my mum had just died and said I could possibly apply for a special dispensation so I wouldn’t have to pay it and put me through to speak to a supervisor,” said Bradley.
”I told him the story and I said I was down for the week and could he sort something out.”
Bradley says the supervisor told him he would be best to use his parents’ disabled sticker issued for his mum and park his dad’s car outside the controlled zone.
”I said to him that I wasn’t insured to drive my dad’s car and my mum had just died, so that would be illegal to use the pass,” said Bradley.
Charlotte was one of those who fought for designated parking spaces for residents living around Ninewells Hospital a fact that has only added to the family’s frustration.
”The permit zone is meant to be there to help the residents but I can’t park outside my parents’ house while I bury my mum?” said Bradley.
”None of the people I spoke to would make a decision. The only person with a bit of commonsense was the girl on the front door.
”I said to the guy would I get a ticket every hour if I parked there or just every day. He said it would be once a day so I said I would be willing to just pay the £300. To me it’s just like buying a back tyre for my motorbike.
”But what about other people coming to visit my dad? Are they not allowed to park there for an hour without getting a parking fine?”
A council spokesman said: ”Parking staff discussed a range of options to try to help Mr Cassidy, including pointing out areas of unrestricted parking, 300-400 metres away from his family home. He chose not to take up any of these options.
”There is an appeals process open to anyone who gets a fixed penalty notice by contacting the parking officers at Gellatly Street in Dundee.”