Parking Eye update following the system going live on February 17th
Our parking system went live on Monday February 17th when Parking Eye installed signs in the carpark to advise customers on the new parking conditions, including the need for customers to enter their vehicle registration onto the Parking Eye system. At the same time, we put up signage at the reception desk, on the reception barriers and on the door leading to the changing rooms and spectator area, to remind customers to validate their parking when they come to the pool. The staff members on reception also been reminding customers to enter their car registration numbers into one of the two tablets that we have in the reception area or to use the QR code on the signs in reception to do this on their phones.
How long do customers have to enter their car registration numbers?
Some customers have expressed concern that if they forget to enter their registration number when they arrive at the pool, and do this as they leave, they may still receive a parking fine. We have confirmed with Parking Eye that as long as customers record their car registration number before they leave the pool, then they can park at the pool for up to four hours for free.
We have also confirmed with Parking Eye that if a customer forgets to record their car registration number when they are at the pool, as long as they do this later on the same day before the pool closes, their parking on that day will still be free for up to four hours. Customers in this position could also call the pool and ask the staff on reception to do this on their behalf to avoid them having to travel back to the pool.
Reducing the Parking Eye fines for our customers
Customers who visit the pool and forget to record their registration number on the same day as their visit will receive a letter from Parking Eye a few days later. This includes details of the day and time that the customer parked at the pool and requests that they pay a fine of £100 to Parking Eye, which can be reduced to £60 if it is paid within 14 days of the date issued on the letter.
In this situation, customers should contact the pool reception by phone (0191 4329 444) or email (info@birtleycommunitypool.org.uk) as soon as possible and let us know their name, registration number, the date of the parking fine and their phone number or email address, so we can contact the customer if any clarification is required.
Birtley Community Pool will then contact Parking Eye and ask them to reduce the fine to £20, which is just to cover their costs. Once customers have done this, they should not pay the original fine and should instead wait until they have received a new letter, with the reduced £20 fine, before they make their payment. We have already agreed with Parking Eye that they will reduce fines to £20 for our customers.
If customers feel they have strong mitigating circumstances as to why they did not enter their registration number whilst they were at the pool, please also provide us with this information and Birtley Community Pool will share this with Parking Eye.
Whenever you visit the pool, please remember to record your registration number on one of the tablets in reception, or by using the QR code on your phone whilst you are at the pool. This will ensure that you don’t receive a parking fine.
Why did Birtley Community Pool install the Parking Eye system?
We installed the Parking Eye Solution to ensure thar the pool car park is used by our customers, rather than having other people parking there who are not using the pool. We were aware that prior to this being introduced, some people were often leaving their cars in the pool car park for long periods but were not using the pool, therefore stopping our customers using the car park at busy times.
Customers who enter their registration number into the tablets are able to park for free for up to four hours. People who want to use the car park but are not using the pool now have to pay for their parking or they will receive a fine which they will have to pay. The parking fees are additional income for Birtley Community pool.