There have been some changes recently to the way parking fines are being enforced in Northern Ireland. The changes involve both who is responsible for issuing fines and how payments can be made. Enforcement for on-street and off-street parking had been provided by red coat traffic attendants due to an agreement between the Department for Infrastructure and local councils, but now blue coat parking attendants will take on responsibility for enforcing off-street public parking in parts of Northern Ireland.
This shift in responsibility comes as eight councils have entered into a new enforcement contract with the company Marston (Holdings) Ltd. The company’s core business is debt collection, but it also has a parking enforcement division which operates under the NSL brand. As part of this new contract, a new cashless parking system will be introduced at some council-run pay and display car parks, though cash will still be accepted.
While the changes are meant to streamline the parking system, some citizens are concerned that there has been a lack of communication about what the changes mean for them. For instance, Glena McDowell-Khan, who works at the For You Charity Shop in Dungannon, said that there was very little awareness or advertising around the changes, which could make it confusing for customers.
Tank driver Charlie Calderwood, whose food business is located nearby, said that customers had been asking him about the changes, and he worried that the confusion could dissuade people from visiting the town. However, some users like Paige McCoy, who works in Belfast City Centre, found the transition smooth as she had seen signs and downloaded an app beforehand.
In terms of figures, there were more than 690,000 parking offences in Northern Ireland between January 2018 and September 2023, with more than 70% of these offences occurring on-street. DFIs figures show that more than £12m in revenue was generated from fines for on-street parking and bus lane contraventions between April 2022 and December 2023. However, information on off-street parking fines would be held by individual councils
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