Families decry Look Out car park fines

Families visiting The Look Out Discovery Centre have labelled the car park "a total rip‑off" after it emerged the council sends out more fines there than anywhere else.

Freedom of information data shows 1,317 penalty charge notices (PCNs) were issued at The Look Out in 2025, raising £37,414, down from 1,872 fines worth £52,476 in 2024. The Look Out remains the single biggest revenue‑raiser in Bracknell and income could rise again as three payment machines are out of order.

At The Avenue car park, used by families visiting The Lexicon, 963 PCNs were issued in 2025 (value £37,645), compared with 1,266 notices bringing in £51,333 the year before. Across the two sites income from fines dropped by more than £14,000 between 2024 and 2025.

There were nearly 140,000 parking transactions at The Look Out in 2025/26: 6,094 paid in cash, 56,747 via PayByPhone and 75,333 by card. Visitors must enter their vehicle registration number on what the council describes as industry standard QWERTY keyboards; PCNs are set at a statutory £50, reduced to £25 if paid within 14 days.

Bracknell Forest Council removed three of the least‑used payment machines as a budget saving in 2025/26, leaving five machines across the large car park. One machine was covered in a tarpaulin on Sunday, April 19.

Regular visitors say the system can be confusing, unreliable and stressful for families with young children. Cyclist Mihkel Olop from Priestwood Avenue, dad to Scott and Isabel, said: "I used to go there every weekend for the last 10 years. Once I got a fine because I just forgot."

Grandad Michael, a regular at the Discovery Centre for years with his grandchildren, said the parking arrangements "seem designed to be a total rip‑off", describing long walks between machines, unreliable card payments and queues "in the rain" while families try to pay. He said he had received a PCN while queuing at a machine, and another after using what he believed was an incorrect location code when paying by phone.

The council said that mitigating circumstances - such as using an incorrect location code - can be accepted, although it is not aware of any current issues of this kind. Damian James, assistant director for contract services, said pay‑and‑display machines have been in place since 2012 and offer several ways to pay, including cash, card and PayByPhone. He added that new aerials have been installed to boost mobile coverage and that PCNs are only issued when drivers fail to follow parking rules, with every recipient able to challenge a ticket before paying.

Ted O'Neill, Local Democracy Reporter