A controversial parking company is asking for permission to keep a CCTV camera at a car park in Heswall.

Smart Parking has applied for planning permission to keep a pole-mounted ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) camera at the Roy Castle charity shop car park on Pensby Road. The camera will be used to recognise number plates.

The company manages car parks across the UK and says it provides a "combination of cutting edge hardware including ANPR camera technology, Pay & Walk machines, vehicle detection sensors and, where needed, mobile patrols."

The planning application does not state when the cameras were installed but Smart Parking said they are "applying for retrospective planning permission" in the application.

The CCTV camera faces the entrance to the car park with two poles with signs in raised beds at the entrance informing people of rules when using the car park. Another sign has also been mounted on the railings next to the shop.

The nearby post delivery office has been informed of the application, which neighbours the site where the CCTV camera has been installed.

A consultation on the planning application will end on November 12.

Recently Smart Parking was criticised by Wirral councillors who said it was "preying on people's misery" over similar cameras the company was seeking planning permission for.

Those cameras were at the Cherry Tree shopping centre in Liscard and had led to thousands of people getting incorrect fines.

Cllr Williamson said: "Smart Parking's business model is based on fining vulnerable people. They don't bank on getting the parking charges. They're very low. That's not how they make their profits."

A spokesperson for Smart Parking said downward trends in numbers were similar to other areas and said the appeals process meant incorrect fines were cancelled, and they had sought to work with residents.

Fraser Richards, from Smart Parking, said in June 2022 the purpose of the cameras was to stop people from using the car park incorrectly and one benefit would be a higher turnover of motorists allowing more people to visit the town centre.

The planning committee later rejected the retrospective application for the CCTV cameras saying it would negatively impact Liscard and put people off shopping there. The decision to refuse the application brought cheers from the public attending the meeting.