Artisan Butcher owner Terry Dyer says he won't pay "heavy-handed" fines in row with Bell Court

AN independent business owner who has been hit with over £700 in parking tickets is refusing to pay them, saying they are unjust.

Terry Dyer, owner of The Artisan Butcher in Wood Street, Stratford, has been issued the tickets by a Vehicle Services Ltd, acting on behalf of Bell Court, for occupying spaces assigned for permit holders.

Mr Dyer said that access to the rear of his property is insufficient and that a permit would allow him to go out on deliveries with minimal fuss. But Bell Court has not allowed him a permit.

“Bell Court put a gantry around one of the properties at the rear of us, and it’s too narrow for my van to go through,” said Mr Dyer.

“I explained to the centre manager that I can hardly afford to remodel the rear of the property or buy a smaller van, when in reality all I was asking for was occasional permission to be there for 15 minutes at a time.

“I feel I did the right thing upon taking the lease and that was to write to them and ask them for a permit. The signage on restricted areas says permit holders only, and I would have assumed that given that we were going to be coming in and out on deliveries, that we would be entitled to a permit.”

On the same day that he was told he was not eligible for a permit, Mr Dyer received the first of seven £100 parking fines.

“I’ve pleaded with Bell Court to get the tickets cancelled,” he said. “But I continue to get them.