Clamping rules may force man to abandon his home
PARKING RESTRICTIONS INTRODUCED AT HOLLYVILLE HEIGHTS
Sean and Seamus Kenny stand alongside the clamping sign at Hollyville Heights.
Wednesday March 10 2010
A WEXFORDMAN LIVING in Hollyville Heights where clamping was introduced this week, says he will have to move out of his home of two years because he is not allowed to park a van outside his own front door.
Seamus Kenny whose Ford Transit was clamped outside his residence on Monday night even though he has a permit to park a car, said he was effectively being 'harassed out of my home'.
A former owner of Masterpiece framing business in South Main Street, he has been living in the estate for two years.
'I'm left with the van after the business closed down. If I could afford to buy a car I would,' he said.
Seamus was about to go to Gorey shortly before 8 p.m. on Monday to collect his teenage nephew from a pool tournament, when he discovered his car had been clamped by National Controlled Parking Systems.
NCPS have been hired by the Hollyville Heights Management Property Company to enforce new parking regulations in the estate. One of the rules is that no commercial vehicles are to be parked in the estate except for deliveries or tradesmen carrying out work on residences.
Seamus had to pay €45 to take a taxi to Gorey so that his nephew would not be left waiting on the street.
He also had to fork out €120 to NCPS to have his van unclamped.
His brother Sean arrived on Tuesday morning to wait with Seamus until the clampers arrived. He parked his car in a visitor's spot. The two men were having a cup of tea. When they looked out the window, they saw an NCPS representative clamping Sean's car as well. He also had to pay €120 to get his vehicle unclamped. Seamus said he will now have to consider moving out of the house that he has rented for the past two years, as he is only allowed to park for four hours on the public street.
The secretary of Hollyville Heights Residents' Association, Orla Tarpey said the parking regulations which came into effect on March 1, were introduced as a 'desperate measure'. People living in the estate have endured ongoing problems arising from illegal parking in the area, with non-residents parking their cars there all day long, she said.
Ms. Tarpey said residents had been given advance warning through letters and notices on cars and while the measures came in on March 1, clamping was not carried out until this week.
She said it was a clause in the lease that commercial vehicles were not allowed to be parked in Hollyville Heights.
In relation to visitor parking, she said non-residents were required to indicate the number of the household they were visiting and to park for a maximum of two hours only.
- Maria PEPPER
