Thistle Fencing pays Glasgow bus lane fines for homeless charity

Paula Dewar from Thistle Fencing paid £540 of fines handed out by the council to Homeless Project Scotland (HPS), which claimed they were accrued by its vehicle picking up vital food supplies.

The organisation, which serves up 250,000 meals a year to some of the city's most vulnerable people, had set up a JustGiving appeal to try and settle the bill after it was warned sheriff officers could be sent to recover the debt.

Paula was inspired to intervene after the Glasgow Times revealed HPS's plight.

She said: “As soon as we heard what had happened, we wanted to help out. The charity goes above and beyond to feed those in need and this was just our way of giving something back to a wonderful cause.

“We popped along ourselves to volunteer and it was heartbreaking to see the number of people in need of help. We were just happy to clear the fines to let the charity focus on moving on with their work."

READ MORE: Glasgow homeless charity asks public to help with council fines

We previously told how the fridge van, used by the charity to collect food donations, was seen using bus lanes on Maryhill Road, Glassford Street, Dumbarton Road, West George Street and Nelson Mandela Place.

HPS chair Colin McInnes added: “We are so grateful to the fantastic team at Thistle Fencing for clearing our fines. It is a huge weight off our shoulders and means we can continue to focus on feeding the city’s homeless.

“Our volunteers are collecting food donations from noon until 10pm from all across the city, and if they are stuck in heavy traffic, sometimes they nip into the bus lane so they don’t miss out on pick-ups. We need Glasgow City Council to sit down and discuss the best way forward to help us continue to do our work effectively.”

Colin McInnes from Homeless Project Scotland (Image: Newsquest)

The final demand for payment was sent to the charity by Stirling Park, which was acting on behalf of the local authority.

The paperwork says: “A sheriff officer will be instructed to call and serve a charge for payment of money notice or an arrestment of your bank account.

“To avoid this action, pay the full balance within seven days.”

READ MORE: Diageo distillery site to be transformed with 'high end' luxury homes

Council bosses told the Glasgow Times they initially reduced each fine to £30.

A spokesperson said: “No further bus lane fines have been issued to HPS since September and this indicates the charity has been able to deliver their service without driving into bus lanes where they have no exemption.

"We have ensured 10 vehicles used by HPS are exempt from the bus gate and parking restrictions on Argyle Street to help them operate the soup kitchen under Central Station.

“No other dispensation is in place and no information has ever been provided to us that attempts to show an exemption is needed by the charity for the whole city, or for any other specific bus gates, to collect or deliver food.

“We have viewed the camera footage for each of the six incidents and there is no indication that HPS has stopped to collect or drop off any goods in any of the bus lanes they drove into.

"We have offered advice on how to get to specific places without travelling in bus lanes and we also reduced the fines to the initial £30 charge, but that offer was rejected and the fines have since gone up in line with standard practice.

“As the fines remain unpaid, this matter has been passed to debt recovery as happens with any other unpaid fines.

“Bus lanes are a crucial measure for the efficiency of the city’s public transport system and no other charity in the city has the general exemption being suggested by HPS.

“The blue light emergency services are exempted because of the urgency of what they do, not just because it is more convenient for them.”