Northumberland County Council reveals how many parking tickets have been issued at the coast since lockdown eased

The figure has been revealed as Northumberland County Council confirmed it is looking at creating more car parks along its shores.

In recent weeks residents and emergency services have struggled with access issues as tourists flock to the area to enjoy the region’s beautiful beaches and walks.

The Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) can cost motorists between £50 and £70, depending on the severity of the offence, with failure to display a ticket at the low end and parking on double yellow lines leading to a high fine – both are reduced by 50% if paid within 14 days.

Councillor Glen Sanderson, cabinet member for local services, said: "Across Northumberland we've allocated £10 million to fund parking improvements and over recent years have improved and extended a number of our coastal car parks including Craster, Seahouses and Bamburgh.

“We're also looking at a number of other coastal locations to provide new parking provision.

“All our car parks are clearly signposted and we always encourage people to park legally, responsibly and with consideration for others.

“We do carry out enforcement and since the end of May, when the majority of our car parks re-opened, we've issued almost 500 Penalty Charge Notices for a range of offences in our coastal car parks including parking outside marked bays, parking in disabled bays without a blue badge and also sleeping overnight in vehicles."

In March last year, the council confirmed it had spent more than £500,000 on improvements to car parks in Craster, as well as the Seafields car park in Seahouses, which each help hundreds of thousands of visitors as they travel to the villages for days out.

A further 48 were added at Craster, which now has a capacity of 148 vehicles, with a new electric vehicle charging point added.

At Seafields, work included laying a stone surface to its extension area and drainage, as it would become difficult to use during bad weather, with 160 spaces set out there.

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