Restaurant owner 'at end of tether' over parking fines at store

A restaurant owner in Swindon town centre believes he is being targeted by council parking officers.

Sushil Paudel owns Momo King, a Nepalese restaurant and bar that has been located on Havelock Street since 2019.

He frequently needs to park his car, or sometimes his van, around the back of the building to load and unload food and to help facilitate the catering and events side of his business.

But he has found himself racking up penalty charge notice after penalty charge notice across the years from Swindon Borough Council's traffic officers because of double yellow lines that have been put in place there.

Sushil says it is now starting to impact his small business.

Momo King owner Sushil Paudel says the council needs to change after racking up parking fines for parking at the rear of his business (Image: Dave Cox)He is now imploring the council to change the traffic regulations there to allow Havelock Street business owners to reasonably park behind their stores, either by introducing a permit system or changing the double-yellow lines slightly.

"The financial impact is starting to get me," he said, "It's a lot of an unnecessary cost which I have to pay time and time again, and it's already been a struggle to survive.

"The council could be helpful to independent businesses and show a little common sense, and bring in a permit or move the double yellows slightly further back so that a car can fit directly behind."

When the fines first started, Sushil said he would appeal them but eventually stopped and he just started paying them.

He says he can't park anywhere else because he needs to frequently be in and out and this would not be practical.

He also cannot park the car parallel to the building, because this would block the fire exit, so he is left with no choice but to park nose-on which means crossing the yellow lines.

The last ticket he received was on Tuesday, April 23, when he was unloading his van.

A video seen by the Advertiser shows that of eleven vehicles parked over the lines at the time, only two appeared to have received a ticket, with one of those being Mr Paudel's vehicle.

"I think I'm being targeted and they're not being fair at all," he said, "Why is it just me and other cars seem to get left alone? The law should apply to everyone, but more importantly, common sense should be used and business owners who need to, should be able to park near their businesses."

A ticket on Mr Paudel's van while other cars appear to have been left alone (Image: Sushil Paudel)A Swindon Borough Council spokesperson said: “The parking restrictions in this location have been in place for some time and were introduced to maintain access for larger goods vehicles that need to make deliveries to local stores and to allow access to the nearby car park.

"The double yellow lines do allow motorists to load and unload within a five-minute period, but you are not allowed to park or wait, fully or partially, on them.

“It is important to note that our officers only issue penalty charge notices to vehicles that are parked on double yellows as we have described and they do not discriminate against anyone.

“We are not unsympathetic to Mr Paudel’s situation and appreciate his frustration, but we cannot waive the restrictions for individuals or certain groups of people.

“Mr Paudel can make representations to his ward councillors to have the traffic regulations reviewed, but we would suggest that he speaks to his landlord to discuss ways the rear of the business could be reconfigured to enable him to parallel park to the building rather than nose in, as this would stop any further penalty charge notices (PCN)  being issued.”