In a bid to make the resort more visitor-friendly, motorists who return to cars just a few minutes over their ticket times will NOT be fined, council bosses today revealed.

The new lenient guidelines – welcomed by drivers and tourism bosses alike – come after years of accusations that Blackpool's wardens were too tough and their overzealous tactics were forcing visitors away.

Although the new policy looks set to cost the council a cool £500,000 a year in lost revenue, council bosses think it is worth it.

They say a more tolerant approach towards drivers who commit minor infringements will help make Blackpool more welcoming.

Council leader Coun Peter Callow said: "We shouldn't be booking people who are slightly over their time – if we are too rigid it's a turn-off.

We want to be welcoming to both residents and visitors.

"At the same time we can't have people taking advantage and thinking they won't get booked. If they are well over their time, they will be."

The new policy is on a trial basis, and the council is not revealing how many minutes drivers who go over their time have before they will be fined. But since the guidelines were introduced, the number of complaints about the council's traffic wardens has dropped.

The number of people parking in the town is also up 12 per cent on last year.

Although the extra revenue is still not enough to cover the cost of handing out fewer penalties, Julian Kearsley, executive director for business, said adopting a more flexible approach would support the whole visitor economy.

Other parking-friendly measures include attendants being diverted from enforcement on busy weekends, in order to direct drivers to areas where there are spaces.

In other cases, for instance, where dual-use bays for disabled drivers are being wrongly used, motorists will receive a warning instead of being automatically fined.

Clare Smith, vice-chairman of StayBlackpool, welcomed the approach.
She said: "Instead of our traffic wardens upsetting everyone, a little bit more leniency and happy, smiley faces helping people out a bit more would be a wonderful way of giving Blackpool a better image.

"A parking ticket is such a big turn-off for a visitor."

In the past, the council has come under fire for its tough parking regime.

Since it took over responsibility for parking enforcement from the police, around 50,000 people a year have been ticketed.

This raises, on average, £1.5m annually in fines. Fines are £30, rising to £60 if not paid within a fortnight.

The issue of traffic wardens is always a hot one in the The Gazette's Season In The Spotlight survey.

In 2006, one respondent said: "Blackpool has become extremely unfriendly with many money-making projects – notably the parking wardens – making it an unattractive place to visit."