Off Street Car Parking Changes – Frequently Asked Questions
1. What changes will I see with Off Street Car Parking?
From 01 April 2024, car park users will notice three main changes in the Council’s 13 Pay and Display Car Parks in the Fermanagh and Omagh area.
- Car Park users who wish to use cashless parking will need to download the new RingGo app to their mobile phone. Just Park will no longer be functional in our car parks.
- Parking attendants will be wearing a blue uniform, however, their responsibilities and legal authority remain unchanged.
- Small text changes on the Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). All PCNs issued by the Parking Attendants are valid and carry the same legal authority as PCNs issued currently.
2. Can I still pay for my parking using cash?
Yes, the existing Pay and Display machines in the 13 Pay and Display Car Parks will remain. They will continue to accept both sterling and euro coins.
Cashless parking provides a convenient alterative means to pay for car parking as it requires no cash and you are not limited to the time you have paid as you stop the app when you are ready to leave the car park.
RingGo has an optional SMS text alert service with a charge of 15p per text message. If you do not wish to avail of this service, you need to disable the notifications on your Account within the App.
The cashless parking option via RingGo will also support the Off Street Car Parks in 7 other Council areas:
- Ards and North Down Borough Council
- Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council
- Belfast City Council
- Derry City and Strabane District Council
- Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council
- Mid Ulster District Council
- Newry, Mourne and Down District Council
3. Are car parking tariffs changing?
No. Car parking tariffs will remain unchanged and these are displayed in each of the Pay and Display Car Parks. At this point in time, the Council has no plans to change the car parking tariffs.
Cashless car parking transactions through RingGo will appear 10p more than the tariffs listed in each car park due to a convenience fee. This fee is a transaction charge that every other council has passed on to the end user for some time. Prior to 31 March 2024 Fermanagh and Omagh District Council absorbed this charge, however, this fee will now be passed on to the end user for the option of cashless parking.
4. Will season parking tickets continue to be available?
Yes, season parking tickets will continue to be available for all car parks and any tickets already purchased will remain valid until the date of expiry.
Season tickets offer a reduced parking rate for regular car park users (Monday to Friday only). They can be purchased on a monthly or quarterly basis by calling Marston Holdings Ltd on 0333 006 8351.
5. Will the rules of Off Street Car Parking change?
All Off Street Car Parking rules will remain based on the Northern Ireland Off-Street Order legislation and are unchanged including charging days, Blue Badge Parking, parking without a valid ticket, parking out of bay, parking in an Electric Vehicle bay and not charging.
Details of all parking contraventions are available on the NI Direct website.
6. Will I still see Red Coat Parking Attendants in the town centre?
The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) is still responsible for On Street Car Parking, therefore, the Red Coat Parking Attendants will continue to patrol the streets.
7. Why are the changes being implemented?
The Council has joined a consortium with seven other Councils in Northern Ireland to deliver a car parking enforcement contract directly with Marston Holdings Ltd.
Responsibility for Off Street Car Parks (OSCPs) transferred to district Councils as part of the implementation of the Review of Public Administration in 2015. The new direct contractual relationship between each of the eight Councils and Marston Holdings Ltd resolves a longstanding legacy arrangement.
The management and enforcement activities, which have been in place since 01 April 2015, will continue to be in operation with the exception of the changes outlined above.