By Alesha Capone
Wyndham council will investigate reports that a paid car park, which is operating in a Hoppers Crossing industrial estate without municipal authorisation, has been issuing motorists with notices of up to $77 for non-payment of parking fees.
Cr Josh Gilligan, who raised the matter at a council meeting last week, said the paid car park was operating at 75-85 Elm Park Drive.
Cr Gilligan said the council has not provided planning authority for the site to be used as a commercial car park.
But he said that the operators of the car park were charging fees of up to $5.50 per day for parking.
Cr Gilligan’s notice of motion stated that some drivers who received the $77 non-compliance notifications incorrectly believed they were legally required to pay the fee.
However, a spokesperson for the owners’ corporation which operates the Elm Park Drive car park, said the gated complex was owned by 21 factories.
He said there were 75 spaces in the park, which provided “plenty of room” if everyone stuck with their allocated parking spots.
However, the spokesperson said that recently, workers from surrounding properties had started using many of the vehicle spaces, due to a lack of on-street parking in Elm Park Drive.
He said the owners’ corporation had decided that paid parking “was the most practical option and safest option” to control the situation.
The spokesperson said they allowed people to park for up to 90 minutes, free-of-charge.
He said money raised from the car park went back to the owners’ corporation for general use and maintenance of the car park, and that businesses could use the funds to compensate workers who paid for parking.
The spokesperson said the owners’ corporation had hired a national parking operator to manage the car park, which issued the non-compliance notices.
Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) manufacturing organiser Darren Connelly said parking spaces near Elm Park Drive were quickly taken up every day.
He said some workers, who did not start until 7am, were turning up as early as 4am or 5am to get a free park near their workplace, as many felt unsafe walking to walk from further away.
