Just half of the sign spelling out the terms and conditions for parking at Coastlands mall in Paraparaumu. The full notice rambles on for about 900 words.

Got time for a bit of light reading before you park your car?

Shoppers at a mall north of Wellington are being confronted with a 900-word sign spelling out the full terms and conditions under which they can park there.

The giant blue sign at Coastlands mall in Paraparaumu has been in place since January, but shoppers say they have noticed it only since a dispute last month, in which mall customers were fined $65 for parking there twice in the same day.

ROSS GIBLIN/ FAIRFAX NZ The 900 words can be summarised in nine: If you don't like it, you can leave now.

The 900 words list all the terms parkers must abide by, and the sign warns that those who don't agree to the terms should "immediately leave the car park".

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Shoppers in the car park on Tuesday, and others on social media, said the sign was overkill, and some said they would travel elsewhere to do their shopping.

Wendy Stafford said she would drive to Porirua or Palmerston North instead. "The drive is likely to take less time than reading the long-winded and ridiculous statement at Paraparaumu mall."



The full notice on display at Coastlands mall. The full notice on display at Coastlands mall.

Sarah Louise envisaged trouble ahead with the time it took to read the sign: "Bookmark, please. My toddler needs to pee."

Karen Harris said she found the sign rude and intimidating.

"It tells you to leave immediately if you don't like all the conditions, and that just seems rude and rather bossy.

"Nobody has time to read it, and all it seems to say is you're giving up all your rights if you park here."

ROSS GIBLIN/FAIRFAX NZ You've been chalked: parkers have four hours to enjoy Coastlands mall.

Shoppers weren't the only ones fed up with the parking rules. Mall staff said they were fined for parking longer than four hours, and had to shift their cars on their breaks.

In April, shoppers who returned too quickly between visits were slapped with $65 tickets from Parking Enforcement Services, a division of Wilson Parking, the parking contractor employed by the mall.

Coastlands manager Jan Forrest said that ticketing issue had been resolved, and the sign was a legal requirement displaying full terms and conditions for parking at the centre.

ROSS GIBLIN/ FAIRFAX NZ In April, shoppers at Coastlands mall were fined for returning too quickly between visits.

"Yes, it's long and detailed. But it does need to be."

She said the centre was happy with its parking contractor, and the only change in conditions was from a clamping system to a ticketing system.

Parking Enforcement Services spokesman Matt Ransom said the sign formed a legal contract between the company and parkers.

Kapiti Mayor K Gurunathan was not concerned about the sign. Coastlands was a private establishment, and it was entitled to put up such a sign if it wanted to.

He was not worried the sign would send people shopping elsewhere. "No business would make a decision that would undermine their ability to attract shoppers."

Kapiti had been growing over the past 10 years, and was facing a lack of long-term parking. Coastlands had looked at getting a parking building, but the numbers did not stack up, he said.