Explorer Pass Holder Terms and Conditions

Terms and conditions for Explorer Pass holders

Please make sure you are familiar with the terms and conditions of parking at the Essex Country Parks.

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Terms and conditions

General terms

The term “we” refers to Essex County Council, the owner of Essex Country Parks.

The term “car park” refers to any area within the boundaries of the Essex Country Parks where car parking has been permitted. This includes temporary and overspill parking areas and not just surfaced car parking areas.

  1. Overnight parking is not permitted.
  2. Motorcycles may park for free.
  3. You must make sure you give the correct vehicle registration details when you buy/renew a Explorer Pass. If you need to change your vehicle details, you will need to contact us and pay an administration fee of £5.30.
  4. If you are purchasing an over 66 or Blue Badge Explorer Pass, you must upload proof of age or Blue Badge holder information.
  5. If you are purchasing an Explorer Pass for Business Use, you must upload Public Liability insurance.
  6. Explorer Passes are digital (unless otherwise stated) and nothing needs to be displayed in your vehicle.
  7. You cannot transfer an Explorer Pass between vehicles unless you have a paper Explorer Pass with no specific vehicle registration number.
  8. We do not accept liability in respect of theft of, or damage to, any vehicle in the Essex Country Parks or its contents or fittings.
  9. We, or Essex Police, may suspend the use of car park bays in the Essex Country Parks.
  10. We may, at any time, ask for proof of ownership to confirm the validity of the vehicle. We would accept:
  • a copy of the V5C registration document showing the vehicle is registered to your residential address
  • an insurance document showing the vehicle is insured against your residential address
  • a letter from a hire or lease company confirming that you have permission to drive the vehicle

11. You may receive a parking fine (Penalty Charge Notice or PCN) if you do not comply with these terms and conditions.


Accessing and using our car parks

If you have a valid Explorer Pass, you can park in the following country park car parks from Monday to Sunday (unless otherwise stated):

  • Belhus Woods Country Park
  • Cudmore Grove Country Park
  • Danbury Country Park
  • Great Notley Country Park
  • Hadleigh Park
  • Thorndon Country Park
  • Weald Country Park

Car park names are displayed on tariff boards at each car park and exits for each car park are also signed. As long as you have a valid Explorer Pass, you do not need to pay the daily fees.

You must park the vehicle wholly within the designated areas and must not park in cross hatched areas or on/alongside double yellow lines.

In the interests of safety, and out of consideration for others, you should drive and park your vehicle with care. You should observe any speed limits or directional signs/markings at all times. If you do not observe these rules, we may cancel your Explorer Pass.

Your Explorer Pass does not guarantee you a space or the unrestricted right to a space in a car park or priority over other customers.

Throughout the calendar year, there may be occasions when the Essex Country Parks will be closed or unavailable for general use. During these periods, you will not be able to park with your Explorer Pass.

On arriving and parking at one of the Essex Country Parks, we cannot guarantee that all facilities will be open and available for use. In such circumstances, we will not be able to part-refund or extend your Explorer Pass.

Payment, refunds, misuse and cancellations

We will not refund you for any period of non-use, such as holidays or sickness.

We will inform all Explorer Pass holders of any fee increases.

If you want to cancel your Explorer Pass, you must provide us with at least one month’s written notice to cancel it. This covers those days during which you had access to the car park(s), even if you did not actually used it/them. We will then contact you to arrange a pro-rata refund, calculated from the date when you contacted us.

"Misuse" means you, or someone else using your vehicle with your permission, are using our car parks in contravention of these terms and conditions. We may cancel your Explorer Pass, or prevent you from buying anything further, if we suspect misuse. If we cancel it, we will give you five working days’ written notice.

If you have a paper Explorer Pass which we have cancelled, you must return it to us immediately. If you do not return it, you will be liable to pay an administration fee to cover the cost of a replacement.

If we have cancelled your Explorer Pass for misuse, we will not refund you for any remaining time on the Explorer Pass. We reserve the right to cancel an Explorer Pass for failure to comply with these terms and conditions.

We reserve the right to refuse to sell an Explorer Pass to anyone who has failed to comply with these terms and conditions previously.

Variations

Subject to (b) below, we can vary the terms and conditions on this page at any time. If you continue to use your Explorer Pass, we will consider that you have accepted these variations.

We will not:

  • ask you to pay any additional or further monies for the period which your Explorer Pass relates to
  • reduce the period for which your Explorer Pass is valid
  • seek to impose any other retrospective liability

If you do not accept any variations to these terms and conditions, you can contact us and we will arrange a refund for you.

Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs)

We may issue a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) for:

  • parking without having purchased a valid Explorer Pass
  • parking in a cross hatched area or on/alongside double yellow lines
  • parking in a drop-off area for longer than 15 minutes

The charge is £70 if you pay within 28 days. However, we will accept £35 if we receive payment within 14 days. Failure to pay within 28 days will result in debt recovery through the County Court. No allowance is made for £35 postal payments that we do not receive within 14 days.

If you wish to challenge a PCN, you must do so in writing within 28 days of the date the notice was issued. If you challenge within the first 14 days, the reduced charge will carry over for a further seven days if your challenge is unsuccessful.

We will normally consider cancelling an PCN if you can show that at any one or more of the following applies:

  • The contravention did not occur.
  • The information on the PCN is incorrect or incomplete because the parking attendant has made a mistake.
  • The vehicle was broken down and you can show that you had taken steps to move it.

We advise you to consider your response carefully if you receive a PCN. You can either pay it or appeal within 14 days if you wish to benefit from the lower charge of £35. We will always pursue PCNs for non-payment as far as possible within the law.

To view your details, log in to the Essex Country Parks MiPermit page.