Residents in Bargoed, South Wales, have expressed their outrage after being slapped with fines for parking outside their own homes, including those who hold disabled badges. 

A change in rules this year meant that residents of Greenfield street, Bargoed are no longer able to park on one side of the road, even with a valid parking permit, reports WalesOnline.

They say they were previously able to park along both sides of the road at any time with a valid parking permit. 

Now they claim they cannot park outside their own homes for more than an hour on weekdays between 8am and 6pm. 

There are two council signs on both sides of the road, one reading “Mon-Sat, 8am-6am [for] one hour. No return within one hour.”. The other sign, which is directly opposite reads “Mon – Sat, 8am – 6am. Permit holders only.” 

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These signs mean that residents on one side of the street are able to park as they please without a permit, but not their neighbours who want to park across from them. 

Elderly and disabled residents say they have no choice but to park far away from their homes, or be hit with a fine. 

These fines may be contested, but at a risk of increasing, with one disabled man claiming he was given a £600 charge and threatening letters from the bailiffs. Gareth Williams said: “I’ve lived here for 20 years and before 2019, we could park here no problem. It doesn’t make sense at all.”

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Speaking to Wales Online, Gareths’ partner, Kelly said: “We had letters posted to us [in October] because we had a fine. We contested it and the fine went from, I think, £50 to nearly £600. We parked out the back of our house originally.

But because [Gareth] isn’t well, we parked at the front one day because we came home from a shop and it was absolutely tamping down with rain.

So, instead of carrying the shopping from up the top of the garden, we parked outside at the front. We brought the shopping in, went to the toilet, came back out and then there was a parking fine on the car.

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“We contested it twice and said we’re not paying it. However, there was no correspondence from them. Then one morning there was a note put through our door telling us that if we didn’t pay the money, they would come here to remove our stuff from the property. We had to pay the £600.”

Gareth and Kelly say they are blue badge holders and have suggested that the council put a disabled box outside their door.

Max Fury, 43, moved to the street in 2019 and has been refusing to pay fines unless provided with reason by the council. Fury said: “I don’t understand it. It feels like the 27 houses here are being discriminated against for no reason. There are people who are remote workers and people who are disabled. I just see it as a money grab.

“I have been fined about four times. I paid the first one because I didn’t want to go through the rigmarole like many others on this street, who pay the money. I contested the other three fines. I got booked twice in two days and then the next week I had another one.

“We contested it twice and said we’re not paying it. However, there was no correspondence from them. Then one morning there was a note put through our door telling us that if we didn’t pay the money, they would come here to remove our stuff from the property. We had to pay the £600.”

Gareth and Kelly are blue badge holders and have suggested that the council put a disabled box outside their door.

“I tell [the council] I have a permit – but they said it doesn’t matter. I have letters coming through now saying my fine is going up because I haven’t paid it. It’s now at about £150 for each and I keep responding to them saying I’m not going to pay it until I get a reasonable answer as to why we can’t use our permits.”

He shared that he is taking a stand in solidarity with his older and disabled neighbours: I’m not just thinking about myself and the money I have to pay, I feel terrible for my neighbours. I said to Gareth I will save his space with my car and then move it when he needs it because I can walk further.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous and it’s a blatant cash-grab in my mind. They don’t care and they refuse to give me a simple explanation. The fact is that they can’t give me an explanation because there is no reason for it other than to make as much money as they can.”

WalesOnline contacted Caerphilly council for comment.

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