Brighton woman who forgot to renew parking permit now on waiting list

Annabelle Le Clercq has lived in Compton Avenue, Brighton, for six years but said she is now 592nd on the list to park there after her permit expired on July 4 this year.

The 44-year-old has already received two parking tickets.

Brighton and Hove City Council said Ms Le Clercq also did not renew her permit in 2023 but allowed her to renew it after it had expired - as a one-off.

Ms Le Clercq said her permit zone Y is “heavily oversubscribed” thanks to its proximity to the train station.

Residents in the zone are only offered a limited 20 visitor permits per year, compared to 200 in neighbouring zones.  

Ms Le Clercq said she missed her permit renewal deadline by three days this year and on contacting Brighton and Hove City Council was advised since she had not renewed on time she has to wait till a space becomes available.

Annabelle Le Clercq said she is now 592nd in the waiting list to park in her street (Image: Annabelle Le Clercq)

She said because she is in perimenopause she suffers from brain fog and forgetfulness.

Ms Le Clercq said: “I am utterly exasperated - being told I can no longer park where I live is causing me so much stress and worry - what am I going to do?

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“The council has treated me with zero empathy and has been dismissive of my menopausal symptoms. If my husband wasn’t self-employed and needed the car for his business I would consider getting rid of our car and never paying the parking department another penny.”

Annabelle Le Clercq and her husband's car has already been fined twice (Image: Annabelle Le Clercq) Councillor Trevor Muten, cabinet member for transport, parking and public realm, said: “The resident lives in parking Zone Y, where there is currently a lengthy waiting list of more than 500 residents. This means if a permit is not renewed before it expires, it will be offered to the next resident in the queue.

“While we are sympathetic when people forget to renew their permits, this resident also did not renew their permit in 2023. At the time our officers used their discretion and allowed her to renew after it had expired but explained that would be a one-off decision.

“In May we sent the resident a reminder their current permit would soon expire and they would need to renew it, which they did not do within the standard grace period.
“As a result of the permit not being renewed it has now been given to another resident.

“Our parking review is looking closely at ways to reduce the waiting time for permits in Zone Y and other city centre parking zones, with announcements planned this autumn. This will help many city centre residents.”

Ms Le Clercq said although her car is just three years old, as it is diesel her annual permit fee is £395.