Free Traffic Legal Advice

The OP does not have to prove the signs are in place that is for the council. I would put them to proof that they were

The driver says '..during their journey they did not see any[applicable] signs..'.

The authority say 'There are road signs on display at the entrance and exit (?) of the Controlled Parking Zone'

We don't know whether 'did not see' = they weren't there.

I understand the comment about 'putting the authority to strict proof' but IMO this isn't the legal test, it's balance of probability that adequate signage was in place.

Only the driver knows whether they did or did not see these signs on their entrance and whether, if not, this was due to them not being there or the driver's inattention.

The starting point is that we don't know and neither would an adjudicator.

But we're not there yet, there's the NTO stage to manage before the keeper has to make a double or quits decision with adjudication.

Who is the registered keeper and are their DVLA details current?

So should the driver just wait till they receive the NTO? As the driver already appealed, then I thought this indicates the driver received the PCN physically and therefore the discounted rate will no longer apply if the driver waits for the NTO as it will pass the 14 days discount period.

The driver is just worried that they will have to pay the full amount as it seems the grounds to appeal this PCN is quite low, so it would be sensible to just pay the discounted amount and be done with this PCN?

The OP does not have to prove the signs are in place that is for the council. I would put them to proof that they were

Exactly, further to that I'm going to request the council records in any event.

@confused-z in the meantime please give us the PCN number and the number plate.

Hi cp8759, I got itchy feet, and with other things going on in my life then I didn't want to go through the hassle of taking this to court

There is no court for PCNs ¯\_(ツ)_/¯