Hi all,
I submitted an appeal and received a response recently. I was wondering what you think are my chances of success if I take this forward to the Tribunal, and if there are any additional arguments/refinements I need to make to increase my chances of success.
My appeal was as follows:
"As context, I was dropping my wife and 7-year-old son at Romford train station. This PCN should be cancelled for 3 reasons:
1. The PCN was not clear on the contravention that took place. When I received it, I was unable to figure out what the contravention was even after reviewing the evidence, inspecting the location carefully on Google Maps and searching readily available online resources. The PCN and related evidence does not contain clear information regarding the contravention that occurred. There are no pictures of any signs in the evidence package that show what the vehicle restrictions were, and it is unclear from the PCN what type of vehicles are prohibited. I had to post about the PCN on ftla.uk simply to understand why I received the PCN at all. As per case 223050945A which was brought to the London Tribunals, the wording of this PCN is deficient since it does not clearly convey to the PCN recipient what prohibition was in force that was allegedly contravened. As in that case, no picture of the signage showing the nature of the vehicle restriction was provided by Havering Council in this PCN.
2. While travelling from our home in ******, my navigation automatically took me to South Street via a right-turn from Victoria Road. See the attached image for the route recommended by Google Maps. According to the images captured on Google Maps street view (see attached), from this angle, the signage regarding motor vehicle restrictions is not clearly visible. The signage is supposed to be clear, prominent and unambiguous. As per PCN HG61116639 that was assessed at London Tribunals, the signage at this junction was inadequate.
3. The signage indicates that motor vehicles are prohibited "except for access". In this case, I was dropping my wife and son off at the train station. While driving past the station, I assumed that I would not be allowed to stop directly in front of the station, and also that I could not stop in the loading bays since passenger drop-off is not permitted here. Instead, I travelled to Havana Close and stopped here to offload my 2 passengers. In the image "Where I parked.jpg", I have marked with an "X" the approximate location where I stopped. On Havana Close, there are double-yellow lines where stopping to offload passengers is permitted. Havana Close is only accessible from South Street. Therefore, in order to access Havana Close, passing through South Street is necessary. As a result, the PCN is invalid because the route was being used for access, which is explicitly permitted under the signage."
The response was as follows (also available here:
https://cdn.imgpile.com/f/uDY1VJg.jpg):
Note that if turning right from Victoria Road onto South Street, I believe the sign in the second image of the PCN response would not be seen at all.
