Invercargill City Council is set to refund nearly two years' worth of incorrectly-issued parking tickets after acknowledging a bylaw wasn't properly enforced.
The tickets eligible for cancellation and a refund were issued between July 1, 2022 and February 29 this year.
The council said any tickets for "failing to activate the parking meter in a metered space" during that time will be refunded.
A council spokesperson told 1News that 12,272 tickets were incorrectly issued in that time.
"Each infringement notice is $40, meaning the total amount to refund is $490,880."
In a statement, chief executive Michael Day said: "As a council, it's important that we take ownership when a mistake has occurred and ensure that we remedy the situation as quickly as possible.
"In this instance, we will be refunding and cancelling a number of parking infringement notices, which have been incorrectly charged."
The tickets were incorrectly issued under the city's Parking Control Bylaw.
The problem was the subject of an Invercargill District Court ruling, which found the meters didn't clearly state that people using a park for 30 minutes or less – which meant parking was free – still needed to enter their number plate into the meter and activate it.
Day said the council had an "obligation to the community" to ensure the bylaw was accurate and correctly enforced.
"We have already started the process of identifying those impacted and will continue to work with the community as we move through this. If you believe you have been impacted, please visit the Council website for further information."
Any outstanding and unpaid tickets had automatically been cancelled.
But anyone who had already paid a fine during this period will have to request a refund online.
"Council is currently proposing amendments to the Parking Control Bylaw which will be open for consultation from May 29 to June 28, 2024," the council said, adding "proposed changes include making the bylaw easier to understand".
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