3. Appeal Pedestrian Zone PCN - Code 53J - Newham
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Appeal Pedestrian Zone PCN - Code 53J - Newham
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Hello all.

First time poster here – thank in advance for any help!

I received a 53J PCN failing to comply with a restriction on vehicles entering a pedestrian zone and would like to find out if there are any grounds to appeal (I’ve read similar, but not identical situations on this forum, so I’m keen to gather some views before proceeding).

I made a right turn into a road that is restricted to pedestrians only between 2:30pm and 4:30pm, Mondays to Fridays. I appreciate I made an error here, but my concern is that the signage is not particularly visible.

The sign is parallel to the road I was driving down, and you can only really see it if (A) you are making the right turn and you’ve stopped to let traffic pass (giving you enough time to notice and read the sign) or (B) when you are already in the process of making the right turn giving you little time to rectify your error.

There is also a lot of information on the sign to process when trying to make a right turn.

Lastly, there is an unclear (in my opinion) warning sign about 50 metres leading up to the right turn (see pictures attached), but I don’t think this is understandable.
I understand the importance of this sign but think it should be far more visible.

From everyone’s experience on this forum, is there any grounds to appeal? Or am I expected to just see all these signs?

Please find attached:

1. PCN letter: https://crsaun.imgbb.com/
2. Video evidence: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/846015916/privacy
3. Pictures attached to the PCN (see link above); and
4. Additional pictures upload to highlight the sign location and warning sign (see link above).

Any advice about appealing would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Callum
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Re: Appeal Pedestrian Zone PCN - Code 53J - Newham
« Reply #1 on: »
Video:



I'll get hold of the traffic order, but in the meantime can you check if this sign on the main road is actually showing the restriction at the moment?
« Last Edit: July 19, 2023, 11:25:41 am by cp8759 »
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I practice law in the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, London Tribunals, the First-tier tribunal for Scotland, and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for Northern Ireland, but I am not a solicitor or a barrister. Notwithstanding this, I voluntarily apply the cab rank rule. I am a member of the Society of Professional McKenzie Friends, my membership number is FM193 and I abide by the SPMF service standards.

Quote from: 'Gumph' date='Thu, 19 Jan 2023 - 10:23'
cp8759 is, indeed, a Wizard of the First Order
Re: Appeal Pedestrian Zone PCN - Code 53J - Newham
« Reply #2 on: »
Thanks!

As soon as I got the PCN, I went to check the area and I took the photo of the 'warning' sign and it was blank (see'CS-53-J-Evidence-Picture-3' here - https://crsaun.imgbb.com/).
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Re: Appeal Pedestrian Zone PCN - Code 53J - Newham
« Reply #3 on: »
If the council saw fit to install a no right turn sign but it was blanked out at the material time, you have a compelling case IMO.

Your deadline to make representations and see the discount extended is midnight on Monday, so for now I'd draft a representation based on the signage and put it on here for us to review. By the time you get any rejection letter, we should have the traffic order as well.
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I practice law in the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, London Tribunals, the First-tier tribunal for Scotland, and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for Northern Ireland, but I am not a solicitor or a barrister. Notwithstanding this, I voluntarily apply the cab rank rule. I am a member of the Society of Professional McKenzie Friends, my membership number is FM193 and I abide by the SPMF service standards.

Quote from: 'Gumph' date='Thu, 19 Jan 2023 - 10:23'
cp8759 is, indeed, a Wizard of the First Order
Re: Appeal Pedestrian Zone PCN - Code 53J - Newham
« Reply #4 on: »
Hi all.

Here's my draft representation for the appeal:

I am writing to appeal the Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) XXX.

The PCN states that there is an alleged contravention from a failure to comply with a restriction on vehicles entering a pedestrian zone.
However, the warning sign immediately before the righthand turn into the temporary pedestrian zone was not visible. The warning sign, which can be physically removed depending on whether the school is in term time or not, had not been replaced, leaving a completely empty sign (see here for an example of the empty sign). I therefore had no forewarning of the restricted zone.

As a result, the only sign stating that Cheering Lane has temporary vehicle restrictions is at the entry to the restricted zone itself (Cheering Lane).

These signs are also parallel to the road I was driving down (Liberty Bridge Road) meaning that the vehicle restriction sign is only visible midway through making the righthand turn into Cheering Lane, leaving no time to read the sign (which contains a lot of information on when the zone is restricted) and react accordingly.

As such, I hereby argue that my vehicle cannot be in contravention of Code 53J and as such the PCN should be cancelled.

Thoughts?

Thanks!
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Re: Appeal Pedestrian Zone PCN - Code 53J - Newham
« Reply #5 on: »
Yes that looks fine to me.

If you want to get clever, upload the image to google drive and create a sharing link, then create a free bit.ly account and use that to shorten the link (and do not click on the shortened link, at all, ever).

You can then use the click statistics from your bit.lt account to confirm if they've clicked on the link, if they haven't (which you'll know if the click history is zero), that's a failure to consider.
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I practice law in the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, London Tribunals, the First-tier tribunal for Scotland, and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for Northern Ireland, but I am not a solicitor or a barrister. Notwithstanding this, I voluntarily apply the cab rank rule. I am a member of the Society of Professional McKenzie Friends, my membership number is FM193 and I abide by the SPMF service standards.

Quote from: 'Gumph' date='Thu, 19 Jan 2023 - 10:23'
cp8759 is, indeed, a Wizard of the First Order
Re: Appeal Pedestrian Zone PCN - Code 53J - Newham
« Reply #6 on: »
I've sent off my appeal. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for the help so far!

Callum
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Re: Appeal Pedestrian Zone PCN - Code 53J - Newham
« Reply #7 on: »
Logged
I practice law in the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, London Tribunals, the First-tier tribunal for Scotland, and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for Northern Ireland, but I am not a solicitor or a barrister. Notwithstanding this, I voluntarily apply the cab rank rule. I am a member of the Society of Professional McKenzie Friends, my membership number is FM193 and I abide by the SPMF service standards.

Quote from: 'Gumph' date='Thu, 19 Jan 2023 - 10:23'
cp8759 is, indeed, a Wizard of the First Order
Re: Appeal Pedestrian Zone PCN - Code 53J - Newham
« Reply #8 on: »
How will I know if my appeal has been successful or unsuccessful? Will I receive a letter? I haven't received anything yet.....
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Re: Appeal Pedestrian Zone PCN - Code 53J - Newham
« Reply #9 on: »
The penalty due on the council website is £65 at the moment, this means they must have rejected the representation and reoffered the discount. Rather than waiting for the post, I suggest you ring the council and ask if they can email you a copy of the Notice of Rejection.
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I practice law in the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, London Tribunals, the First-tier tribunal for Scotland, and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for Northern Ireland, but I am not a solicitor or a barrister. Notwithstanding this, I voluntarily apply the cab rank rule. I am a member of the Society of Professional McKenzie Friends, my membership number is FM193 and I abide by the SPMF service standards.

Quote from: 'Gumph' date='Thu, 19 Jan 2023 - 10:23'
cp8759 is, indeed, a Wizard of the First Order
Re: Appeal Pedestrian Zone PCN - Code 53J - Newham
« Reply #10 on: »
Thanks.

I just called the Council and they told me they still have not responded to my claim (it can take up to 56 days I was told). They will email me with a response so I will keep you posted.
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Re: Appeal Pedestrian Zone PCN - Code 53J - Newham
« Reply #11 on: »
It might be that the discount has been reset and the letter is due to be printed in an overnight batch, the amount due should not be £65 at this stage as the discount expired at some point in July.

If you haven't heard anything by the end of the week, call them again.
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I practice law in the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, London Tribunals, the First-tier tribunal for Scotland, and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for Northern Ireland, but I am not a solicitor or a barrister. Notwithstanding this, I voluntarily apply the cab rank rule. I am a member of the Society of Professional McKenzie Friends, my membership number is FM193 and I abide by the SPMF service standards.

Quote from: 'Gumph' date='Thu, 19 Jan 2023 - 10:23'
cp8759 is, indeed, a Wizard of the First Order
Re: Appeal Pedestrian Zone PCN - Code 53J - Newham
« Reply #12 on: »
Hello all,

I've just received the inevitable rejection letter from Newham Council (see attached) - its taken them a very long time to respond!

I just wanted to see if other people think it is worth taking this to Tribunal?

My gut feeling is that I should, because if Newham Council consider it acceptable to fine people when an important sign is not in place, this will just turn into a massive cash cow for them and they will continue to unfairly fine people.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Callum

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Re: Appeal Pedestrian Zone PCN - Code 53J - Newham
« Reply #13 on: »
I think you should appeal and I'm happy to represent you at the tribunal, but of course I cannot guarantee the outcome and if you carry on the full amount will be at stake.
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I practice law in the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, London Tribunals, the First-tier tribunal for Scotland, and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for Northern Ireland, but I am not a solicitor or a barrister. Notwithstanding this, I voluntarily apply the cab rank rule. I am a member of the Society of Professional McKenzie Friends, my membership number is FM193 and I abide by the SPMF service standards.

Quote from: 'Gumph' date='Thu, 19 Jan 2023 - 10:23'
cp8759 is, indeed, a Wizard of the First Order
Re: Appeal Pedestrian Zone PCN - Code 53J - Newham
« Reply #14 on: »
Thanks for the advice.

I'm going to appeal this decision. I'm just looking at the process and I need to "explain why I am appealing". Any tips for this? Or should I just explain what happened in simple terms?

Thanks,
Callum
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