In this letter, a resident living in Woodley has called on Reading Borough Council to pay compensation to those who have been incorrectly fined in a legal blunder automatically, rather than having to apply. 

Last week, the council announced that parking fines in five areas of the borough had been issued incorrectly due to a fault in the creation of Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) which are legal instruments governing road rules. 

The council is due to launch a website which will allow people to claim compensation for fines paid. 

But Dudley Jones has questioned why this compensation can't be paid automatically. 

Mr Jones writes: 

"Given that Reading Borough Council knows the exact number of illegal fines (6,136) issued to drivers and the years in which they were issued, why are they relying upon motorists to apply for compensation? 

"Some may not read local newspapers, or own smartphones, and will thus lose out on compensation. 

"And what about those who might have died over the last 11 years - aren’t their spouses entitled to compensation? Surely Reading Borough Council have contact details."

In a media interview, Jackie Yates, the chief executive of the council, said that the council does not have up-to-date details for all potential claimants. 

However, she did say that the council will contact around 150 people who faced debt recovery measures for unpaid fines, as those details have been retained. 

Mrs Yates stated that refunds will cost the council approximately £360,000, money that will be paid out from its reserve fund. 

The refund scheme is set to be agreed at a full council meeting on Tuesday, October 15, with the webpage due to go live on Wednesday, October 16.