ONE year on from the launch of a shared civil parking enforcement scheme covering East Hampshire and Havant, and motorists in Alton have been fined almost £35,000 for parking offences.

It has been something of a wake-up call for Alton which has not had a traffic warden since the last one left in 2009, when responsibility for civil parking enforcement passed from the police to East Hampshire District Council (EHDC).

It meant that for two years drivers had been given a free rein, with indiscriminate parking clogging up the town and causing Alton town councillors to tear their hair out. The police keep a watchful eye but have insufficient manpower to make parking a priority.

When EHDC eventually joined forces with Havant Borough Council to launch a shared civil parking enforcement service, those used to taking the on-street parking option were the first to feel the restraining hand of the law.

For full story, see this week's Alton Herald.