Family 'faces £3,500' in Havering Council School Street fines

Martin Stevens, 63, said his wife Steph, 53, and daughter Abbie, 25, drive their four-year-old granddaughter to and from James Oglethorpe Primary School in Cranham every day. 

However, due to them living outside the borough in South Ockendon, Mr Stevens claims that when Havering Council introduced the School Streets scheme in September, he and his family were unaware of the new rules. 

He also alleges the School Street signs are not easily visible to those driving into the area, another reason the family was caught out.

"The way that we come into this junction is you come into this side road," Mr Stevens said, meaning "the signs are facing away from you".

The first they heard of the issue was when Ms Stevens received an email from Tusker, the company she leases her vehicle from through her employer Queen’s Hospital, on October 10, saying she had driven through the restricted zone on September 15. 

This instantly sent alarm bells ringing, as they knew they had regularly driven through the zone after September 15. 

“By then, the damage had all been done,” Mr Stevens said. 

The James Oglethorpe Primary School in Cranham is one of the 10 new sites where School Street trials started in September (Image: Google)

Over the next couple of weeks, more letters and emails came in, and their daughter also started receiving fines. 

Mr Stevens said they have now received upwards of 10 penalty charge notices (PCNs), and are prepared for more to arrive. 

He estimates the family could end up with 28, meaning costs of potentially more than £3,500, though until all the PCNs have come through, the final figure is unknown. 

Complicating things further is the arrangement Ms Stevens has leasing her car from Tusker. 

Due to this, fines have resulted in deductions from Ms Stevens' wages, so far a total of £455.

Martin Stevens said once the first email from Tusker came through, the family knew 'the damage had all been done' (Image: Martin Stevens)

Mr Stevens said he spoke to the team at Tusker, who agreed to ask Queen's to withhold any further deductions as the family intends on appealing them all. 

“The problem we have got in this is we had not been notified,” Mr Stevens said. 

“They were coming two weeks later.” 

He added he believes the lag in sending out warnings is likely to have impacted others, saying: “God knows how many people have been burned with this.” 

• READ MORE: Man receives warning for driving in School Street – one minute after enforcement ends
• READ MORE: 'Successful' Havering School Street praised as review hinted

Abbie said: “If I had known I was doing wrong, would I have continually committed all these offences?"  

She added that by the time she had found out, “it was too late”. 

Cllr Ray Morgon, leader of Havering Council, said: “The driver can appeal through the council’s appeal process against any PCNs if he feels they have been given in error and our parking enforcement team will look into that appeal. 

“There are signs at the entrance to the restricted zone. The council also notified both residents and the school by letter ahead of the scheme being in operation, with the school notifying and reminding parents and guardians of the scheme, ahead of the summer break.”