Welsh language campaigner who refused to pay parking fine in English loses case

A Welsh language activist who refused to pay a parking ticket until it was translated from English has lost his court case.

Toni Schiavone was ordered to pay the fine by magistrates in Aberystwyth.

However, Mr Schiavone said he will still refuse to pay the charge which he was given in September 2020 after parking in a private car park in Llangrannog.

He said he did not receive the charge either in Welsh or bilingually, despite contacting One Parking Solution - the company who issued the fine - twice by letter and calling them.

Speaking during court proceedings, Mr Schiavone said: "The Welsh language is an official and equal language in Wales and we as Welsh speakers have rights according to the law, and in principle, that should be respected. The request for a Parking Charge Notice in Welsh or bilingually is reasonable and practical. It would have cost around £60 to translate."

He added: "This case could have been resolved very easily and very quickly by providing a Welsh or bilingual Parking Charge Notice. Does not doing so show prejudice against the Welsh language? In my opinion, it does."

The first two cases against the Welsh language campaigner were thrown out over technical issues but One Parking Solution won an appeal earlier this year to continue prosecuting Mr Schiavone.

During the appeal, the judge ruled there were no grounds for throwing out the first two cases.

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In court, Mr Schiavone claimed the parking company sent him a letter the day before his hearing in January which said he owed them more than £10,000.

He said they sent another letter with additional costs of more than £4,000 two days before this week's hearing.

Judge Lowri Williams said Mr Schiavone had behaved in an "honest, principled" way and had shown "unwavering dedication to the Welsh language and the cause for the language."

However, she said the parking company is not legally required to provide a Welsh language version of the parking ticket.

She ordered him to pay the £100 charge, as well as £70 for administrative costs, £11.90 interest and £85 for the court fee within 21 days.

Following the ruling, the activist replied: "I understand, but I refuse to pay."

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