Visiting Shamrock quay by car

[volvopaul]

Be warned MDL have now employed a car parking company to send out parking fines if you stay over 3 hours inside the boundary off Willaim Street, I found this out on Thurday yet there is very little obvious signage yet to enforce this.

This in my view is incorrect as the correct size signage should be displayed as you arrive at the boundary this should be the same as most supermarkets and land owner of retail parks that use this ANPR system.

I wonder how this may affect boating clients from viewing boats for sale and the use of other on site tenants in the future, I understand it is to free up car parking spaces for MDL berth holders and clients of on site tenants, I just think they could have done a better job in getting the message over rather than let you park up and say nothing until it could be too late to find a fine in the post, BTW it's £100 I'm told, not sure how Legal it will be to actually pay the fine should this occur especially after all the ban press of late regarding illegal parking companies, I was ticketed once at a cinema in the cinema car park and never paid it, this was a few years ago and nothing more was heard, I guess it's good news for the DVLA if nothing else.

 

[capsco]

It's not a fine, only courts can issue a fine, it's a penalty charge not necessarily enforceable, if you want to challenge it you will need to do some research.

 

[volvopaul]

It's not a fine, only courts can issue a fine, it's a penalty charge not necessarily enforceable, if you want to challenge it you will need to do some research.

I've not been fined Peter but have been warned that fines will be issued in 2016 , they caught over 30 in one day I'm told all potential money spinners. I wonder how far the parking company will go to enforce it .

 

[Whitelighter]

There was a court case recently. The old trick was to send them £5 as compensation for their losses and leave it at that. The theory being that the shop it whoever hasn't suffered a material loss.

Thus has now been tried through the courts and found that actually the loss of available spaces for customers dies amount to a financial kiss for the land owner and the penalty stands. So long as they have a sign visible somewhere on the property then you enter into a contract by parking there. By over staying you are in breech of that contract and the levied penalty stands. Pay it or they can legitimately Perdue you through the small claims court and they will win

 

[PhillM]

To be fair that have suffered a lot with match day parking, making it hard for bertholders to find a space. I was there this spring and it was only because I had the boat out of the water and was allowed to drive into the boatyard, that I could park up on one particular match day.

 

[Solitaire]

There is a sign as you drive in stating the fact. The charge applies after 3 hours. Based on # plate recognition.

 

[Whitelighter]

There is a sign as you drive in stating the fact. The charge applies after 3 hours. Based on # plate recognition.

So what do you do if your on a mates boat for the day, or doing a course/charter?

 

[wonky]

You can register your reg in the office apparently.

 

[itchenseadog]

Our charity is a tennant at Shamrock Quay and we have had no official notification of these restrictions. I have been told about it but haven't yet registered my car. I understand that it is being brought in because commuters are parking free on site and many are then taking their folding bikes out and cycling to their offices in Southampton. Aparantly they are unable to stop the matchday parking because of the bars and restaurants on site. I do feel more communication should have taken place with tennants and bertholders

 

[volvopaul]

Our charity is a tennant at Shamrock Quay and we have had no official notification of these restrictions. I have been told about it but haven't yet registered my car. I understand that it is being brought in because commuters are parking free on site and many are then taking their folding bikes out and cycling to their offices in Southampton. Aparantly they are unable to stop the matchday parking because of the bars and restaurants on site. I do feel more communication should have taken place with tennants and bertholders

Berth holders have there own gated access barrier car park so there should not be a problem of no space for regular berth holders, I was a berth holder there and never had a problem finding a space , the space at the north end of the marina isn't gated , surely it would have been easier to make a decent gated car park that end as well for Berth holders.

I'd register your car asap to avoid any future aggravation.

 

[Go with the flow]

I am moving back to Shamrock Quay this year, so thanks for the heads up Volvo Paul.
I phoned the office today and spoke with Barry the Supervisor there, he said that bonafide visitors to Shamrock quay, MDL berth holders, their guests/crew, Boats stored ashore , on site businesses and customers visiting those businesses etc can all park for free for the extent of their stay, they just need to register their number plate on site on arrival.
Any other visitors get 3 hours free , it is also free between 6pm and midnight .
I have to say this seems a bloody generous amount of time in comparison to others , Last year i got a £100 parking charge notice through the post for parking at Town quay marina for 25 mins while i waited to pick up a friend from red funnel.
Apparently it doesn't go live till January and they have been running a so called soft run since November to give as much advance warning as possible.
Barry also said in the last month they have identified 37 cars that were parking their daily who had no reason to be at the marina and most were working in Southampton, they even had one that was driving from Hythe to Shamrock on a Monday, getting a cab to Southampton station and then getting a train to london for work, returning at the weekend to collect the car. I suppose when people abuse car parking to this extent i can fully understand their desire to ensure us genuine customers/berth holders can park and therefor do not have an issue with the new system.

 

[thecommander]

If MDL Shamrock Quay were so concerned about match day and commuter parking then they'd install an automatic barrier. Instead the car park operators trick customers into entering the car park believing it's free. Parking Eyes business model is all about issuing disproportionate 'fines' and scaring customers (with the threat of CCJs, debit collection etc etc) into paying those 'fines'. Nasty business.

On another note, why did the government allow private car park operators access to the DVLA databases to issue fines? I never agreed for my personal details to be transferred from the DVLA to a private company. God knows what happens when we have biometric CCTV camera surveillance - will the government sell our biometric data to private companies to issue fines for walking on private streets?!!

 

[Go with the flow]

Im sure most people make concious decisions about where they are going to park and when i was last their (March 2015) Shamrock Quay Marina was not a public car park where car park operators trick people into parking beleiving it is free, it is however a marina with parking facilities for berth holders like me and their guests which has clearly been abused by people parking for free when they work in Southampton ,i hope to see the benefits of more spaces when i return in 2016.

 

[volvopaul]

If MDL Shamrock Quay were so concerned about match day and commuter parking then they'd install an automatic barrier. Instead the car park operators trick customers into entering the car park believing it's free. Parking Eyes business model is all about issuing disproportionate 'fines' and scaring customers (with the threat of CCJs, debit collection etc etc) into paying those 'fines'. Nasty business.

On another note, why did the government allow private car park operators access to the DVLA databases to issue fines? I never agreed for my personal details to be transferred from the DVLA to a private company. God knows what happens when we have biometric CCTV camera surveillance - will the government sell our biometric data to private companies to issue fines for walking on private streets?!!

Well said , I do agree that people should not abuse the system wether it be MDL land or anyone else's however it has to said its been a strange underhand way to go about this . A barrier at the entrance as per say Haslar has to be a better bet, which means if you don't have a legitimate reason to enter you don't get it, far more simple than employing what could be an underhand company to do this and all the bother of going to the office which at times isn't manned 24 hours.

Imagine arriving at midnight at your boat in a friends car that's not on the system , acting off before 6 am the next day and then having the bother with the fine or trying to get a message to the relevant people.

Or being on a sea trial with clients and arriving back after the 3 hour window.

In my view I think it requires a bit more fine tuning before people get fined for trying to enjoy themselves or making profit for onsite services.

 

[itchenseadog]

The restaurants/bars on site are commercial businesses just as much as the yacht brokers, sea schools, engineers etc and their customers have as much right to park to access their businesses. If you put entrance barriers up as they have at Trafalgar Wharf those restaurants/ bars would soon go out of business, MDL would loose tennants and the quay would lose a lot of its appeal.
The current notices at the entrance to the marina are far too small to read whilst driving in and I will be speaking to Jonathan to suggest they errect larger more prominent signs. I would think there also needs to be a machine outside the dock office that can be used to enter reg no's when the dock master is on his rounds at night.

 

[in at the deep end]

I have been a tenant at Shamrock for the past 7 years and have seen the number of cars parking here that shouldn't increase dramatically over this term, the Marina has also filled with both berth holders and tenants over this time and parking at times is virtually non existent if you arrive after 09.30 Monday to Friday, This has obvious implications for my customers who either end up parking where they shouldn't or drive around for 10 mins waiting for a space to become available...
In my view, Mdl have certainly not acted in an underhand manner and should be commended for recognising there was an issue and being willing to listen to berth holders and tenants concerns, I and other tenants were consulted by MDL at a meeting prior to them making a final decision on what could be done and it is fair to say those who attended we were all pretty much in agreement with this course of action.
As I understand it these types of systems record your arrival and departure so if you overstay the 3 hour window you simply enter your registration before leaving the Marina, I believe 2 terminals are already in place to do this. if customers of mine do wish to stay longer than 3 hours I simply let the marina office know their registration and they extend their stay at no cost.
Don't get me wrong I am not a fan of these types of parking management systems but i have certainly noticed a difference with more spaces available than previously so if it stops those who have abused shamrock`s parking from doing so in the future then so be it.

 

[thecommander]

A barrier would be much simpler. If a berth holder arrives, they swipe a card and the barrier opens. If a non berth holder arrives, say for the restaurants, the machine issues a ticket which the restaurant validates. Very simple.