Hi all,
I’d appreciate some advice and feedback on my draft appeal before I submit it to London Tribunals. It's another PCN I received from May this year regarding parking on single yellow line. I received the notice of rejection 11/09/2025 so don't have long to submit to Tribunal ( I think deadline is 09/10/2025 or 11/10/2025). I will try to add the notice of rejection letter images but not sure if imgur is working properly anymore.
PCN: PN22487508
Location: Halley Road, Newham
Date of contravention: 5 May 2025 (Bank Holiday)
Alleged contravention: 01, Parked in a restricted street during prescribed hours (single yellow line)
Vehicle: EA74 KMU
Notice of Rejection dated: 11 September 2025
Background:
I parked on Halley Road on a Bank Holiday, where there’s both a school zigzag area and a single yellow line. I hold a valid MO zone resident permit. The school was closed, and there was no time plate next to the yellow line, so I assumed restrictions were not in force (bank holiday, school closed, and permit valid for the zone).
At the time, Newham Council’s website stated:
“The restrictions for yellow lines can be found on time plates by the side of the road.”
It has since been changed to say restrictions are shown “on nearby signs and/or at the entrance to a Residential Parking Zone (RPZ)”.
This shows their guidance was ambiguous. I relied on it in good faith, along with the CPZ signage on the entry to the road and next to bays (which show Mon–Sat 8am–6.30pm, MO permit holders).
Here’s my current draft for the tribunal appeal (which is quite long thanks to Chat GPT):
I wish to appeal the Penalty Charge Notice on the basis that the alleged contravention did not occur, and alternatively that there are compelling mitigating circumstances.
On 5 May 2025, which was a bank holiday, I parked my vehicle on Halley Road, near the school entrance where the carriageway markings consist of a school “keep clear” zigzag area that also includes a single yellow line. I hold a valid resident permit for zone MO, which is the Controlled Parking Zone covering Halley Road.
At the time of parking, the school was closed for the bank holiday. I genuinely believed that both the school zigzag restriction and the single yellow line restriction would not be in force that day, as parking enforcement is commonly relaxed on bank holidays. I was also influenced by the following factors:
Absence of a time plate on the yellow line:
There was no individual time plate adjacent to the single yellow line where I parked.
Wording on Newham Council’s website at the time:
At the material time, Newham Council’s own parking information page stated:
“The restrictions for yellow lines can be found on time plates by the side of the road.”
This created a legitimate expectation that, in the absence of a time plate, the yellow line was not restricted at that time. The council has since updated its website to state that yellow-line restrictions may be displayed “on nearby signs and/or at the entrance to a Residential Parking Zone (RPZ)”, demonstrating that its previous wording was incomplete and potentially misleading.
Reliance on CPZ signage and permit validity:
The CPZ entry signs at the start of Halley Road and those located by the parking bays clearly display the legend “Permit holders only, Mon–Sat 8 am–6.30 pm (MO)”.
Logically, a permit holder within zone MO would assume that this time period applies to the controlled bays, and that any single yellow line without its own time plate would be subject to the same or lesser restrictions — especially on a bank holiday when parking bays are known to be unenforced.
The lack of a separate time plate therefore led me to default to the CPZ signage and bay indications, which I believed authorised parking with my resident permit.
Context and proportionality:
The vehicle was parked when the school was not operational and the road was quiet. There was no obstruction or safety issue, and I had no intention of disregarding any active restriction. My actions were consistent with a reasonable and law-abiding motorist interpreting the signage and council guidance available at that time.
Given these circumstances, the signage in place did not adequately convey that parking was prohibited at the time of the contravention. The situation was further compounded by the council’s own published wording suggesting that time plates identify such restrictions. It is submitted that the enforcement authority failed to discharge its duty under Regulation 18 of the Local Authorities’ Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996 to ensure that the effect of the Traffic Order was clearly and lawfully indicated on street.
Conclusion
I acted in good faith, relying on the information displayed both on-street and on the council’s official website. The combination of a missing time plate, ambiguous CPZ signage, my valid MO permit, and the widely understood relaxation of parking enforcement on bank holidays created a legitimate expectation that parking was permitted at that location and time.
I respectfully ask the adjudicator to find that the alleged contravention was not properly indicated and therefore did not occur. In the alternative, I request that the penalty be cancelled as there are compelling reasons to do so in light of the genuine misunderstanding created by the signage and council information.
Would really appreciate any advice or suggestions on how to strengthen this before I submit it.
In particular, I’m wondering if I should focus more on the legitimate expectation / signage clarity argument or mention anything about bank holiday enforcement policy.
Thanks in advance for your help!
Mo
