Toni Schiavone: English-only parking fine case thrown out of court

Cymdeithas yr Iaith (the Welsh Language Society) said the defendant would make a donation to a charity after the parking company was ordered to pay his travel expenses.

Tomos Evans

Wales reporter

Friday 4 August 2023 14:55, UK

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The case against a Welsh-language campaigner who refused to pay a parking fine because it was written only in English has been thrown out of court again.

Toni Schiavone was given a penalty notice in a car park in Llangrannog, Ceredigion, in September 2020.

The car park is managed by One Parking Solution whose case against Mr Schiavone was dismissed by deputy judge Owain Williams at Aberystwyth Justice Centre on Friday.

A lawyer from the company was present but it was thrown out on a technical matter.

Mr Schiavone has refused to pay the fine as the penalty notice and all later correspondence were not in Welsh.

The case had also been dismissed last May when no representative from One Parking Solution was present at the hearing.

Mr Schiavone previously said he was "very sad" that the service was not being provided in Welsh.

"The cost of a court case is a hundred times higher than the cost of providing a fine letter in Welsh," he said.

"According to the company, because I can speak English they don't need to provide a service in Welsh.

"This attitude is completely unacceptable and goes totally against the rights of Welsh speakers."

Cymdeithas yr Iaith (the Welsh Language Society) said the defendant will make a donation to the charity Cancer Research Wales after the judge ordered One Parking Solution to pay Mr Schiavone's travel expenses.

Speaking after the case, Siân Howys, of Cymdeithas yr Iaith's Welsh language rights group, said the society was "pleased that the judge ruled in favour of the defendant".

One Parking Solution declined to comment when approached by Sky News.

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