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Hi, please let me know if I have any chance if I take this to tribunal.

I received a ticket for parking in a loading only bay. But there was no restricted hours shown on the sign so I thought it was invalid.

There never use to be any signs to say loading only. Southwark council then put a sign saying “loading only” with no time restrictions such as “at any time” or hours shown.

Since my appeal they have not only rejected my appeal but they have now updated the sign and added hours only.

I feel like this is unfair bearing in mind that the sign is only restricted to Monday-Saturday and my PCN was issued on a Sunday.

Please advise me if I should take this to tribunal and if yes under what grounds?

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I have attached the sign evidence when the PCN was issued. But they have now updated the signs with hours.

I was not loading at the time the PCN was issued.

But the sign has now been updated to mon-sat 7-7pm only.

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I was issued the PCN ON 13/04 and they changed the sign around the 04/05 so around 21 days but before they fixed the sign (the one that use to be there was removed) it use to be mon-sat 7-7pm aswell.

Thank you for the information. I have attached the image of the current sign.

I suspect that it was never changed otherwise why would they change the sign 3 weeks after issuing me with a PCN.

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The restriction has always been 7 til 7 so as you parked at something past 4 you would have to talk quickly The road markings are clear and you are expected to know what a road sign means. An adjudicator may find that in the absence of a sign that reflects the order no contravention can occur but it is not a sure thing

That’s what I was thinking but I’m not sure what to say if I take it to the adjudicator.

I wrote to my local councillor today with the following; “I am writing to raise a serious concern regarding the handling of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) issued on Rainbow Street (SE5 7), specifically related to discrepancies between Southwark Council’s signage and the corresponding Traffic Regulation Order (TRO).

On Sunday, 14 April 2025, I received a PCN (Number: JK16138900) for allegedly parking in a loading bay during restricted hours without loading. The alleged contravention occurred at 16:49. However, according to the TRO in place, the loading bay is only enforceable from Monday to Saturday 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Despite this, the sign in place at the time simply read “Loading Only”, with no specified times, implying 24/7 enforcement.

This signage was only recently replaced by the council after no signage was present at the location between 2022 and 2024. Even more concerning is that following my appeal, the council amended the signage to match the TRO – effectively acknowledging the original sign was misleading – yet they still rejected my appeal and are insisting I either pay the fine or escalate the case to an adjudicator.

This is extremely disappointing and unfair. The inconsistency between the signage and the TRO not only misled me but has also led to numerous other motorists (more than 10 by my observation) receiving PCNs under similar circumstances. I believe this indicates a systemic issue in enforcement practice that urgently needs review.

I would like to formally request that this matter be looked into and investigated further. Residents and visitors should not be penalised due to the council's failure to maintain accurate and lawful signage.“

And they replied with the following; “ Thanks Alexi, I’ve asked officers to look into this for you.

Regards,

Cllr Ian Wingfield
Chair Overview & Scrutiny Committee
Labour Member for St Giles Ward
London Borough of Southwark”

You must file an appeal within the statutory timeframe (28 days from date of service of the notice of rejection) you do not need to say much just on the ground of no contravention occurred write the TMO creates a Monday to Saturday 7am to 7pm only so a contravention cannot occur on a Sunday