Meath County Council have responded to the complaints by the residents of Academy Square who have been blitzed with 80 euro parking tickets after a blaze destroyed the under ground car park in the complex last month.
Yesterday Meath Live revealed that initially traffic wardens had issued warning notices to residents who parked on the street even though they had nowhere else to do so, those notices were quickly followed up by parking tickets.
Today the council issued a statement in which they appeared to lay the blame squarely at the feet of Oriel Property Management the management company which oversees the Academy Square complex.
A council spokesperson said, “The accommodation of the residents of Academy Square complex is the sole responsibility of the Management Company.
“The management company are currently working towards sourcing alternative parking off site for current residents until repairs to the underground car park are carried out.
“The priority is to safely manage the current capacity of the on-street parking spaces for the residents of Academy Street. Meath County Council manage the Street parking through the issuing of ‘permits’ to existing residents.
“Due to the nature of the street, there is limited capacity to expand the permit system as the overall street is in the main residential development. The safety of pedestrians and other road users must be considered.”
However Independent councillor Alan Lawes claims the residents are being treated unfairly.
He said, ‘This situation for residents has arisen through no fault of their own and rather than blindly issuing tickets the council should be trying to devise a method that allows them park without fear of sanction”
Oriel Property Management have failed to reply to numerous requests for comment.
