More than 1,100 parking tickets issued in Lisburn in just three months

According to the Department for Infrastructure’s latest figures, 1,151 Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) - more commonly known as parking tickets - were handed out in the city for on-street parking offences between January and March.

That figure is the fourth highest in Northern Ireland, behind only Belfast, Londonderry and Newry.

The figures for surrounding towns and villages over the same three-month period reveal that 153 PCNs were handed out to drivers in Hillsborough, 72 in Dunmurry, 67 in Moira, 17 in Crumlin, 11 in Dromore and none in Glenavy.

There were 470 PCNs issued for off-street parking offences in the Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council area between January and March - the second lowest figure across Northern Ireland’s 11 local council areas.

Describing the figures for on-street fines in Lisburn as “alarming”, the President of Lisburn Chamber of Commerce, Evan Morton said: “Visitors to the city, especially shoppers, must not be put off bringing their vehicles into Lisburn and improved signage should be considered.

“Many motorists can incur a parking ticket for relatively minor breaches of the regulations and common sense should always prevail.

“Our city centre retail members need as much assistance as possible in light of the tough trading climate, and customer parking should facilitate making it easier to do business rather than impede it.”