My suggestion:
The contravention did not occur.
The basic facts of where my vehicle was parked are not in dispute and therefore I hope the authority would not belabour this aspect in their response.
This is a matter of law and how it applies to the council's demand for a penalty.
In order for the council to treat this area as an off-street car park and to demand penalties for failure to comply with its terms and condition of use, those conditions MUST be conveyed clearly to users. Accepted practice is to erect a board setting out those terms and what may happen if a motorist fails to comply. In addition, if the car park is marked then it is the council's duty to convey to a motorist that, as you glibly wrote in your letter dated 5 November, 'in a car park with marked spaces or areas you [ the motorist] need to park so that your entire vehicle is inside these lines.'
Such a requirement, assuming one exists as a provision in a traffic order, MUST be conveyed in writing on site: it does not exist simply because the markings are present or because untrained officers in the enforcement authority say so. There is no basis on which a motorist is presumed to have this knowledge because the Traffic Signs etc. Regs and the Highway Code apply to 'roads' as defined and not car parks.
Given that the authority failed to have regard to my previous representations, I do not hold out an expectation that this might change with formal representations. But I have not totally abandoned hope that the authority will not insist on taking this matter to adjudication at which my appeal would be allowed and favourable consideration given to making a costs award.
The contravention (as defined under para. 2(1)(c) of Part 1 of Schedule 7 to the Traffic Management Act 2004) did not occur because 'any provision made by or under an order relating to the parking place' must be conveyed adequately.
