Toni Schiavone will face a third trial for refusing to pay an English-only parking charge notice

Language campaigner Toni Schiavone will face a third trial on Friday 26 January for refusing to pay an English-only parking charge notice.

Dismissing the Welsh language

According to campaign group Cymdeithas yr Iaith, translating the notice, and avoiding the three court cases over a period of three and a half years, would have cost between £60 and £70.

Schiavone received the original notice in September 2020 for not paying for parking in a car park in Llangrannog, Wales. Although the court case has already been thrown out twice, parking company One Parking Solution is once again appealing over the notice. The company failed to be present for the first case and the second case was thrown out of court as it was introduced late and under the wrong conditions.

Speaking ahead of his trial, Schiavone said:

If One Parking Solution provided me with a Welsh copy of the notice as many other parking companies already do, I would be fully prepared to pay it. Instead, they insist on taking me to court again and again to try to force me to pay the notice in English.

According to the company, since I understand English, they don’t need to respect my right to use my own language in my own country. It is utterly offensive.

read more: https://www.thecanary.co/uk/2024/01/24/welsh-court-case-parking-fine/