MORE than 17,000 parking tickets have been handed out in Gwent since councils took over control from Gwent Police earlier this year.

Gwent was the last police force area to transfer powers of civil parking enforcement (CPE) to councils, bringing them in line with the rest of Wales. This means police no longer enforce parking restrictions on roads across the regions - with this now the responsibility of council officers.

Last week, the Argus reported the new regime had been “broadly successful” in Caerphilly since the council took over control in April.

More than 4,000 fines - or penalty charge notices (PCNs) - had been issued, generating £105,438 in income.

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And in total 17,750 tickets have been handed out since then.

Here’s how that breaks down:

Newport

Newport City Council issued 10,328 PCNs in the first three months the taking over CPE from Gwent Police, generating £193,480 in income.

The council say the CPE officers have received a positive reception from residents and businesses.

There have been 851 requests for enforcement.

The cabinet member for city services Cllr Roger Jeavons said: “Following the council taking over civil parking enforcement on July 1 we have had mostly positive feedback from the local community and businesses.

“Walking into the city centre it is obvious this policy is working and it would appear that most motorists have got the message that if they park in contravention of the Highway Code, and civil parking officers out on patrol witness this, then they will receive a Penalty Charge Notice.”

Monmouthshire

More than 1,000 PCNs have been issued by Monmouthshire County Council since July.

The council took on responsibility for CPE in April, but officers only issued advisory notes for the first two months.

A total of 1,083 PCNs have been issued since July, 790 of which have been paid for.

There have been no appeals to adjudication, but 123 notices have been challenged.

A Monmouthshire County Council spokesman said: “ Our service ambition is to ensure our streets are safe and convenient for pedestrians, cyclists and other road users and tackling indiscriminate parking is an important tool in achieving this objective.

Torfaen

Torfaen County Borough Council has generated £23,179 from CPE up to the end of September. This includes 1,073 tickets which have already been paid for.

In total the council has issued 1,471 PCNs up to the end of October, having taken over the scheme from Gwent Police on July 1.

During this time, there have been 242 appeals for PCNs and 215 requests for enforcement.

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Blaenau Gwent

More than 500 parking charge notices have been issued in Blaenau Gwent since enforcement started on September 10.

Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council was the last of the local authorities in Gwent to take over CPE.

Since then the council has issued 543 parking charge notices (PCN), of which 376 have been paid for.

The council has received more than 70 requests for enforcement via email.

The council said that they often get calls for enforcement and they visit a school site every patrol shift during term time.

So far there have been no formal appeals.

Information regarding income generated from PCN will be available in December.

How can an appeal be made?

Motorists can challenge their PCN via the South Wales Parking Group (SWPG).

The SWPG will consider any evidence available, including site photographs and traffic orders, and will either cancel the PCN or send a motorist a notice of rejection letter.

If this letter is ignored and the motorist still wants to appeal, they can apply for a formal appeal hearing via the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.