Westminster Lodge’s parking problems continue to stump swimming lesson parents
PAYING parents of children attending swimming lessons at the recently-developed Westminster Lodge continue to suffer financially due to ongoing problems with parking facilities.
The lack of spaces, due to the unfinished demolition of the old Westminster Lodge site, combined with the previous opening of the new building, has landed many parents in the swim.
“My son has swimming lessons every Friday at 4pm”, said St Albans-based PR Consultant, Laura Berrill.
“That was fine before the new development and although the facilities are improved, there is more than often nowhere at all to park without going into ‘unauthorised’ areas, such as the grass or on lined zones, which will result in a ticket from the – I will call – predatory council ticket inspectors.
“Last week my husband had to abandon taking my son to his lesson purely because there was absolutely nowhere to park and as we know other people have received tickets, so it was not worth it.
“As a result, we are losing money every week when this happens. I blame it both on Everyone Active and their contractors for not having the foresight to sort out additional parking, which, let’s face it, was inevitable; along with the council for being way over zealous with their ticketing.
“The question is, does Everyone Active and the council want us to continue to use Westminster Lodge or not? I am sorely tempted to go elsewhere, or lodge a complaint to get my money back.”