Bar owner fined 96 times for parking outside his own boozer after council ... trends now
A bar owner has been left furious after he was fined nearly 100 times for parking outside his own boozer to unload stock after the council pedestrianised the road during the Covid lockdown.
Newport City Council has fined Stephen Reynolds, who has owned Slipping Jimmy's for 10 years, 96 times at £35 each, amounting to £3,300 - and he has never successfully appealed despite his best efforts.
The bar and grill is located on Newport High Street which has been pedestrianised and had restricted access for businesses to unload stock between 6am and 10am only since July 2020.
Mr Reynolds says because he cannot get back from his supplier in Cardiff, which open at 9am, in time to unload his barrels by 10am, he is fined by parking attendants if he is even a minute over.
He told WalesOnline he's had at least three run-ins a month with the council since the street became pedestrianised.
Bar owner Stephen Reynolds (pictured) has been left furious after he was fined nearly 100 times for parking outside his own boozer Slipping Jimmy's on Newport High Street to unload stock after the council pedestrianised the road during the Covid lockdown
Newport City Council has fined Mr Reynolds 96 times at £35 each, amounting to £3,300. The bar and grill (pictured) is located on Newport High Street which has been pedestrianised and had restricted access for businesses to unload stock between 6am and 10am only since July 2020
In a bid to avoid a fine and unload legally, Mr Reynolds began parking under the NCP car park at Queensway in the city centre yards away from his bar in the designated loading bay.
Despite there being no signs beside the loading bay warning of a time limit, Mr Reynolds explained he gets fined for parking in the bay, with attendants telling him is because he is taking too long to unload.
He said he had hoped that appeals would be successful, noting that he has no other viable options than the loading bay and that there are no obvious time limit warnings. But none of the fines he has received have been overturned.
Holding two tickets he received last week, Mr Reynolds said: 'When I appeal this they'll tell me: "Well you were there too long". But there is nothing there at all that states that there is a time limit.
'On Friday I walked up and they were at my car taking photos and writing a note and I said to them: "What are you doing? I'm unloading the car for my business." They said:
