Ed,

On 3/8/22 at 8.58am my wife dropped off my daughter on the left side of Mary Street opposite the main gates and entrance; her number plate was photographed by a female council ranger and the fine of $362 sent to me as the car is in my name.

I know and respect that there are school zone and parking rules but in 22 years there has never been a sign to indicate that this is a non-drop off zone. I have been speaking to parents that have been taking their children to the school much lot longer than I have and they all agree, there has never been any signs placed there.

On the 10/08/2022 I rang the Clarence Valley Council and asked to speak to someone in authority with a knowledge of signage and school drop off points. This is the reply that I received: we make our own rules on these matters, we can change them at any time without notice and we do not have to notify residents, nor do we have to provide signs.

I decided with that sort of attitude I would lodge a complaint with one of the Councillors of which I did, and that letter was sent to the General Manager. Because of the way I had been treated, my wife and I decided that we would have this matter heard in court.

On the 25/08/2022 I received a call from a male person from the Clarence Valley Shire, he asked me why I was not having this matter reviewed by Council instead of taking it to court, I told him it was because of the attitude of the lady I spoke to. He then profusely apologised on her behalf. I went on to explain to him that my wife works in Child Care and that she looks after the children of the many parents that have been booked and I can assure you that it is not a few that have been booked, it is dozens and a lot of them twice!

After complaining about the lack of signs, this morning 26/08/22 at 8.50am my wife dropped my daughter off 280 metres away from the usual spot and noticed that for the very first-time dragon teeth signs had been painted on the bitumen on both sides of the road adjacent to the Grafton RSL Club. So that obviously means one thing, these signs have been painted overnight?

I may not win this case, but I will pursue it as a matter of principal, because under the section of road rules 2014 regulation 189 there is no parking in a school zone.

Noel Broomfield, Grafton