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Hi all,

I received two penalty notices (7/2/2025 and 14/2/2025 for turning into a pedestrian zone. The first PCN was for turning into Moss Hall Grove West of Thyra Grove. The second PCN was for Nether Street into Moss Hall Grove.

I am not aware of  the restrictions in place and I did not see any signs that a pedestrian zone was in operation when I was driving.

For the First PCN, I have since gone back to the area and there were two signs. One smaller sign which provided advance warning was obscured by trees. Just before the restriction zone, there is a big sign overhead but it would have been too late to turn back even if I had noticed it the first time round.

For the second PCN, I only received the notice today, so I will go back to the area to look at the signs tomorrow.

https://imgur.com/a/eHVvinl

Apologies, I have now unredacted.

for GSV, I have taken a screenshot from GSV and placed the image in the imgur folder. the link to gsv is here too? https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.6095599,-0.1815684,3a,75y,231.59h,79.12t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s3TFJ6wohLyIXVwRuwAd0ug!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D10.8770877516679%26panoid%3D3TFJ6wohLyIXVwRuwAd0ug%26yaw%3D231.58587572400705!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDIxMi4wIKXMDSoJLDEwMjExNDUzSAFQAw%3D%3D

Hi again,

I am coming up to my 14 days to appeal the PCN. I have the draft representation below. Please can someone read through and let me know if it needs amending before I submit it? Many thanks.

Dear Council,
I make this formal representation against this PCN , for an alleged contravention. My vehicle registration is BW04GGK. I was turning from Ballards Lane onto Moss Hall Grove, proceeding westbound.

The contravention did not occur because:

1.Obscured advance warning signage: You have failed to carry out your responsibilities under the Local Authority Traffic Order to maintain the signage and curb the growth of the vegetation, which renders the advanced warning sign on Moss Hall Grove, approximately 50 meters from the Ballards Lane, invisible. As evidence, I have attached photographs showing the obscured signage.
2. Height of signage: The signpost for the restriction on vehicles entering a pedestrian zone is notably taller than the surrounding signa This elevated height deviates from standard practice and presents a safety concern because drivers turning onto Moss Hall Grove may be unaware of the pedestrian zone restriction, potentially endangering pedestrians. As evidence, I have attached photographs showing the height of the sign in relation to other nearby signs. While the obscured signage is the primary reason I did not see the restriction, the low sun at that time, combined with the non-standard height of the sign, further contributed to reduced visibility.

In light of the above, please take the sensible course of action and cancel the said PCN.

Yours faithfully,

You want a council employee (or more likely the outsourced provider) to be nice to you and cancel so don't poke them in the eye about their maintenance failure nor tell them what is the sensible course. That won't get them onside. (Yes, I know I poke them in the eye a lot but just the sight of my name is enough to enrage them!). Ballards Lane isn't anything to do with this. I wonder if this is the product of chatgpt or a copy and paste of someone else's challenge.

What we have to try and decide is what an adjudicator will think if you get that far.

He won't much care about the advance warning sign being covered. The key is the main signage. I agree that the right hand sign was in the sun but the left hand one, the one you are more likely to notice, is in a direct line in front of you as you approach. Signs can be up to 4m off the ground according to the traffic signs manual.

I doubt that either the council or the tribunal will cancel so paying the 50% is in my opinion (and that is all it is, things can play out differently) the best option.

The PCN you have from the other end where you turn into the road off a roundabout I am more hopeful about as I have won 2 tribunal cases there although many cases have also been lost.

Thanks for the comments. It makes sense and I will redraft. Re Ballards lane- I was turning into Moss hall Grove from Ballards Lane and had expected to see some sort of prior warning sign at the beginning of Moss Hall Grove.

Last question - is it worth making a plea for leniency at all? On the day the contravention occurred, I was driving my disabled blue badge holder child (we do not have any exemptions to drive through Moss Hall Grove) to a hospital appointment.