Tesco shoppers in Weston-super-Mare will have to spend at least £5 in store if they want to park a car for more than 30 minutes.
The Mercury can reveal Tesco bosses are hoping to introduce new parking measures for the Station Road store, which will mean people will be fined £70 if they stay for longer than two hours.
If people want to park for free for two hours, they must spend £5 in store. Anyone parking for less than half an hour will not need to spend £5, but must still validate a parking receipt.
A Tesco spokesman said the new system was ‘designed to protect those growing increasingly frustrated by the misuse of spaces by motorists who aren’t using the store’.
The spokesman said: “The maximum stay is also designed to allow customers time to visit other services.”
Under the proposals, submitted in a planning application to North Somerset Council, a car’s entry time will be recorded when it is driven into the car park.
After shopping, the customer will be given a parking voucher for free parking.
They have to enter their registration number and scan the voucher into a machine before leaving.
People will be fined if they leave without validating their parking.
There will be no way to pay if you want to stay longer than two hours.
* For more on this story, pick up a copy of the Weston Mercury today (Thursday).
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here