Martin Franklin

A FOOD bank volunteer has been told by a parking company he is “uncaring” for leaving his car in the wrong place – as he loaded donations into his car.

Martin Franklin is facing legal action after being penalised for stopping for around 10 minutes to pick up supplies in Tufnell Park to help some of Islington’s poorest residents.

After he appealed against a £60 charge and suggested the penalty was “uncaring” considering why he had stopped, private operators instead accused him of being the one who was acting “uncaringly”.

The ticket goes back to the peak of the second wave of the Covid pandemic when Mr Franklin was taking donations for The Hive food bank. He was picking up contributions at the NK Convenience Store in Tufnell Park Road. With nowhere to park nearby, he paused in a private car park managed by National Parking Enforcement Ltd to load up the boot.

But a few weeks later he was sent a penalty charge notice by the company, informing him he had been captured on camera.

Mr Franklin has been fighting the ticket and is now being billed £160 – the fine escalating due to his refusal to pay.

“My experience has taught me that the bad reputation of parking enforcement companies has justification,” he told the Tribune.

“In this case they have shown a lack of responsiveness to appeals for mild generosity and no sense of concern about the community they operate in.”

Volunteer Mr Franklin has been sent a penalty charge for parking while loading his car with donations

Mr Franklin appealed against the charge on compassionate grounds, asking National Parking Enforcement Ltd to drop the charge or alternatively to allow him to donate the sum to The Hive.

But the company has refused to accept there are grounds to cancel it.

On Monday, councillors Janet Burgess and Sheila Chapman joined The Hive Food Bank, the Hilldrop Area Community Association and St George’s Mutual Aid to ask the parking company’s directors to drop the charge.

Responding to Mr Franklin’s comments about their approach to a food bank volunteer, a spokesperson for National Parking Enforcement said in a statement: “In response to Mr Franklin’s opinion that we are not caring for the community, we argue that we are caring for the community who’s [sic] parking space was uncaringly used without any permission to do so.”

It added: “The car park that Mr Franklin utilised is private property servicing the residents on site.

“It is certainly not a loading bay, it is a resident’s private parking space. NK Convenience Store do not own or have any rights to this land & Mr Franklin should have found an alternative place to park.”

The statement went on: “Whilst we appreciate that he feels that doing a good deed gives him the right to park wherever he wants, the residents who can’t park in their own spaces do not support this sentiment.

“Mr Franklin has been issued with a parking charge notice.

“NPE do not have the choice of whether to pursue the charge through the courts. We manage the car park on behalf of the landowner who has contracted our services for the exact reason Mr Franklin has been charged.”

Mr Franklin said last night: “I am determined to push the company to show some social responsibility.”