'˜Crazy' parking ticket policy hits Horsham shop

Caroline Pecorelli, who has run Fleurs florists in Blackhorse Way for the past 25 years, says that her company finds itself being slapped with parking tickets around every four months.

But she found herself at the end of her tether this week when a traffic warden again ticketed one of the company vans as it was loading crates.

“We were literally parked there for seven minutes instead of the legally-allowed five minutues. It’s just crazy,” she said.

She appealed to Horsham District Council against the £35 parking fine, but was told she had to pay up. “I’m really upset by it,” said Caroline. “It seems harsh, especially as I have been seeing support-your-high-street and keepitlocalthisChristmas appeals.

“It would be nice if we had support from the council for our traders. I’m not sure how you can run a flower shop and not have a bit of leeway on the loading and delivering side.”

She said she already paid for two parking spaces for Fleurs’ vans in the nearby Forum car park but that the vans frequently needed to load and unload outside the shop.

“To be fair to the council, I think that Horsham does a wonderful job in arranging the market and Piazza and all that, but I’m not sure that these people are talking to the parking attendants. I don’t think that the dots are joined up.

“Horsham is a great town for individual traders and customers are beyond supportive of us but I think the council is not talking to their parking arm.”