Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping for some advice on a run of parking tickets I’ve received from Newham Council. I live in Stratford and have a resident parking permit for the Stratford SW RPZ zone. I’ve held the permit for years and have never had an issue before.

In September this year my permit expired and, unfortunately, I didn’t realise. I usually get an email reminder before it runs out, but I didn’t notice one this time. I’ve since found out that Newham did actually send one on 12 August 2025, but it must have slipped past me completely.


My car stayed parked outside my home in the same residents’ bay for the whole period while the permit had lapsed. I don’t think it moved once during that time. When I finally discovered the first penalty notice at the beginning of October, I renewed my permit immediately on 11 October 2025 (permit reference RP143975427).

By that point, though, I had already been issued about ten separate PCNs, all for the same thing – parking in a permit bay without a valid permit, all at the same location and over a few weeks. The dates run roughly from 13 September through to 11 October 2025.

I wrote to the council explaining that this was clearly one continuous period of parking – the car hadn’t moved – and that I believed only the first PCN should be enforceable. They’ve rejected that and said each day is treated as a separate offence, even if the car hasn’t moved. They also mentioned that a reminder email was sent in August, so in their view the tickets were correctly issued.


So far I’ve had two formal rejection letters, both identical in wording, offering to settle at £80 or face £160 if I lose. In total I’m looking at roughly £800 if I paid all at the discounted rate, or £1,600 if I take them all to tribunal and lose.

I’m now considering appealing to London Tribunals on the basis that the car was unmoved and this should be treated as one continuous contravention, supported by tribunal cases like Swinnerton v Islington and Brown v Waltham Forest. I’d also like to argue proportionality – that issuing ten penalties for the same lapse is excessive and unfair, especially as I’ve held a valid permit for years and renewed immediately once I realised.

My question is really whether anyone has had any success challenging Newham on similar grounds, or if there’s any known precedent where the adjudicator has sided with the driver in a “continuous contravention” case like this.

Any thoughts or experience with Newham or similar London councils would be really appreciated. I’m not trying to wriggle out of something legitimate – I just feel like being fined ten times for one honest mistake is unfair and not what the system is supposed to achieve.

Thanks in advance for any advice or insight.
Nathan

You didn't check on the car for a few weeks?

They are right that it isn't a continuous contravention but they have the remedy to impound (and storage is now £55 a day).

What are the dates and codes of the PCNs. Under London Council's guidance an invalid (expired) permit should attract only a lower level code 19 penalty.

When did the permit expire.

You must check car every 2-3 days as bays are often suspended in London.

Just two days after really should be code 19 - is this an e-permit?

Stamf is quite correct re the code this can win

Case reference   2210295739
Appellant   S Lieberman
Authority   London Borough of Haringey
VRM   LK59VJF
PCN Details
PCN   HP29565961
Contravention date   29 Mar 2021
Contravention time   11:06:00
Contravention location   Elm Park Avenue
Penalty amount   GBP 130.00
Contravention   Parked resident/shared use without a valid permit
Referral date   -
Decision Date   10 Aug 2021
Adjudicator   Anju Kaler
Appeal decision   Appeal allowed
Direction   cancel the Penalty Charge Notice.
Reasons   
The agreed facts are that the vehicle was at the stated location and a Penalty Charge Notice was issued. The signage states that this bay is for permit holders only during restricted hours. No permit was seen.
The Appellant makes several points. The first is that the wrong contravention code has been used as this is not a shared use bay.
Contravention Code 12 is for parking in a shared use bay. Code 16 is for parking in a permit bay. The Enforcement Authority says the codes are interchangeable.
The authority’s position is not correct in law. There are two distinct contravention codes. This is not a shared use bay. That the bay can be used for visitor’s or business permits does not make it a shared use bay such that Code 12 can be used.
I allow the appeal as there has been a procedural impropriety.

The first PCN is PN23616865, issued on 13 September. The vehicle registration is HN12 UHD.

Permit was renewed on 11 October. Number RP143975427.

Traffic Management Act 2004
Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) Number: PN23754290
Date and Time of Contravention: 24 September 2025 at 11:07
Location: Bisson Road,
VRM: HN12UHD
Dear Mr Chambers,
Thank you for your correspondence received on 11 October 2025 regarding the
above penalty charge notice (PCN). Your comments and the notes of the Civil
Enforcement Officer (CEO) have been considered.
Your vehicle was observed at 10:59 Parked in a residents' or shared use parking
place or zone without a valid virtual permit or clearly displaying a valid physical
permit or voucher or pay and display ticket issued for that place where required, or
without payment of the parking charge in Bisson Road outside house 110.
You have stated you are a long-standing resident permit holder in Stratford SW RPZ
and have always parked lawfully with a valid resident permit. Unfortunately, your
permit recently expired without you realising, and you did not receive the usual email
reminder from Newham Council to renew it. As soon as you became aware of this,
you renewed your resident permit today (11 October 2025) under permit reference
RP143975427, and you are now fully compliant once again. During the period in
question, your vehicle remained parked in the same residents’ bay outside your
property and was not moved. You also stated only the first PCN may properly be
enforced. You therefore request that all PCNs issued after PN23729748 be
cancelled on this basis.
You were issued a PCN for parking in SSW permit holders only Mon - Fri 10am -12
noon, and on event days 8am - 9pm, without a permit at a time when restrictions
were in force.
Please note that at the time of issuing this PCN, your vehicle did not have a valid
resident permit on MiPermit. It is the owner/keeper’s responsibility to ensure their
permit is renewed when it expires. Although we send out permit reminders to
residents before the expiry date, our records show that an email reminder regarding
your permit expiry was sent to you on 12/08/2025. It remains the responsibility of the
owner to ensure their permit is successfully processed by following up.

The applicant is solely responsible for renewing the permit, as stated in the permit
terms and conditions. As you have failed to renew it, any Penalty Charge Notices
(PCNs) issued after the permit expired are considered valid.
For more information about the Newham permit terms and conditions, you can visit:
www.newham.gov.uk/downloads/file/9563/mipn-terms-and-conditions-april-2024
It is the driver's responsibility to ensure they have their permit activated before
leaving the vehicle unattended. Failure to meet that obligation lies with the driver and
does not provide adequate defence.
In conclusion, having taken all aspects of this matter into consideration, no
justification for cancelling the penalty charge notice has been found.
The discounted payment of £80.00 will be accepted in full and final settlement
if paid not later than the last day of the period of 14 days beginning with the
date of service of this letter.
You can view evidence of the contravention online at parking.newham.gov.uk by
selecting ‘View a PCN.’ You will need your PCN number and vehicle registration
mark (VRM).
If payment is not received within this time, the full penalty amount of £160.00 will
become payable.
Payment should not be made if you wish to pursue this and want to make formal
representation, as payment is seen as an acceptance of liability and will close the
case.
If payment is not received as detailed, I shall assume that you wish to pursue the
matter and shall arrange for a Notice to Owner to be sent after the period of 14 days
to the registered keeper of the vehicle so that formal representations may be made.
Should these be rejected, the registered keeper of the vehicle will then be offered the
opportunity to appeal to the Environment and Traffic Adjudicators. I should point out
that, should you decide to take this course of action, after the discount period has
expired, you will forfeit the right to pay the Penalty Charge at the lower rate and the
full charge of £160.00 will be due.
If you are not the registered keeper of the vehicle, for example the vehicle is a
company or lease/hire vehicle, or being used with the owner`s consent, I suggest
you advise the keeper that a Notice to Owner will be issued.
Please note that Newham Council is unable to consider any further
correspondence at this stage regarding this penalty charge notice.
Payment can be made as follows:
Online: Visit parking.newham.gov.uk and select "Pay a PCN".

By post: Cheques, postal orders or bank drafts should be made payable to `London
Borough of Newham`. Please write the PCN number and the vehicle registration
mark on the back and send it to: London Borough of Newham, Parking
Correspondence, PO Box 71575, London E6 9LY.
Yours sincerely,
H Akorede
Customer Relations Team
Parking Services
Environment & Sustainable Transport
London Borough of Newham

Yeah sent by email yesterday, I've had multiple rejections via email for each PCN, all worded identically.