TOOMBUL shopping centre users will be fined up to $66 if they park there for more than four hours.

Centre users can park ­vehicles undercover for three hours and up to four hours in other unshaded areas between 8am and 5pm.

Centre manager Melissa Crittenden said Secure Parking began monitoring parking with a Licence Plate Recognition System on Monday and there would be a two-week warning period.

“It involves a car with a mounted camera that scans and records licence plates. At the end of the allowed parking period, the vehicle returns and re-scans the carparks,” Ms Crittenden said.

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Usually only Brisbane City Council or the Queensland Police issue fines but Secure Parking’s Daniel Hitchcock said it was able to issue breach notices for noncompliance of the terms and conditions of the carpark.

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A Northgate mother, who visits Toombul regularly and has three children under two, said it was “ridiculous”.

“They’re basically saying get in and get out within three hours or we’ll slap you with a fine,” she said.

Ms Crittenden said in recent months there had been a spike in complaints regarding a lack of parking.

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“A study undertaken on the centre’s carpark has indicated that almost 40 per cent of cars in the carpark were parked longer than four hours,” she said.

Toombul centre staff can park on the level one rooftop without restriction.

The fine is set at $66 and this is reduced to $49.50 if paid within 14 days.

All income generated from the fines will go to Secure Parking.

Centre manager Melissa Crittenden said the fines could be reversed if a customer could prove they were not at the centre for longer than four hours.

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