There was no other clear identifiers to indicate I was driving through a restricted area.
I'm afraid the entry signs are the only identifiers you get with these schemes. Yes it is pretty poor, but this is England 2023 ! Some councils will put planters and other obstacles to indicate physically there is a restriction, but people even drive past these ! The councils have no incentive whatsoever to make restrictions clear, because they keep all the money from the PCNs that are paid, and 95% of them
are paid.
Using satnav without paying close attention to signs is fatal in London, and will get you a load of PCNs if you do this a lot. The signs to look out for are what we call the "Flying motorbike" signs, showing a motorbike symbol above a car symbol. They mean, to all intents and purposes, NO ENTRY to motorists during any time period shown below the sign.
If you submit representations, it is almost certain the discount will be re-offered, but it's not guaranteed.
What can win is absence of advance warning of the restriction, especially if you turn left into the restricted street. I had a look on GSV, and it is not recent enough to show the signs restricting entry, so you'd have to do some leg work with a camera/mobile phone to show us what is in place.
