Clamped car owners must be reimbursed – Kilcoyne

Clamped car owners must be reimbursed – Cllr Kilcoyne

Áine Ryan

HUNDREDS of drivers whose cars were clamped in an illegal Castlebar car park have been urged to claim their monies back. Independent Cllr Michael Kilcoyne told The Mayo News yesterday that planning regulations had been breached at a car park, known locally as Casey’s, to the rear of McDonald’s, and that due to his complaints, Mayo County Council had implemented a planning enforcement order.  
“At a meeting of the Corporate Policy Committee last Friday I was informed that the clamping had stopped at Casey’s as a result of a planning-enforcement notice. I am now saying that all the people who were clamped there in recent months should now apply to get their money back,” Cllr Kilcoyne said.
“Since the money was taken from them illegally they should apply to be reimbursed,” he added.
Cllr Kilcoyne said he had copies of clamping receipts that stated that the clamping company was APCOA, an international car-park management company with offices in Dublin, Galway and Cork. Regarding the management of other car parks in the county town, the Castlebar Municipal District committee recently passed a resolution to put in place a bylaw outlawing clamping in the area. Michael Kilcoyne said he expected a draft of the bylaw to be prepared for next Thursday’s meeting of district councillors.

Initiated enforcement
Mayo County Council spokesman John Condon confirmed to The Mayo News yesterday (Monday) that the local authority had ‘initiated a planning enforcement action’ regarding this breach of the planning laws. While he declined to speak specifically about the case, he explained the background to such issues.
“To use land as a car park you need planning permission. So, if you decide to build a supermarket or a hotel, the planning application will include a certain amount of car-parking spaces. Unless we have included specific conditions about how it should be operated, the local authority does not interfere with how it is run,”John Condon explained.    
The Mayo News understands that if a clamping regime is being operated at a car park there must be clear signage alerting vehicle owners to this. In a front-page exclusive some weeks ago, The Mayo News revealed how one pregnant woman, who was in the early stages of labour, discovered that her car had been clamped in a car park, known locally as Boots car park. She was forced to pay a release fee of €120 before she could drive away.
In a flood of furious commentary on The Mayo News Facebook page, readers expressed their frustration about the clamping regime in the county town.