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Hi all,

I would appreciate some advice on a Newham Event Day PCN which I am considering taking to London Tribunals.

The PCN was issued at 18:19 on Sunday 30 November 2025 for parking in a permit holder bay during an alleged Event Day restriction. The bay sign stated permit holders only Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm, with a second line underneath stating "On Event Days 8am to 9pm".

I am not a Newham resident and this was my first experience of the borough's Event Day parking scheme. There was nothing on the bay sign explaining how a motorist is supposed to identify an Event Day, where that information can be found, or whether they are expected to check CPZ entry signs, websites, or any other source. There was no QR code, web address, or direction to further information.

The council relies on CPZ entry signs displaying the next Event Day. However, from the route I approached, the relevant sign appears to be approximately 0.4 miles away from where I parked. The Event Day information is the bottom line on a sign at a busy junction with multiple competing visual distractions including a roundabout, give-way markings, traffic and parked vehicles. I find it difficult to accept that a reasonably diligent motorist could be expected to notice and retain this information.

In the council's own photographs, the CEO appears to be using a flashlight at 18:19, suggesting visibility conditions were already poor. It is also entirely possible that any CPZ sign could have been obscured by larger vehicles such as buses during my approach.

After parking I travelled via the station and saw no prominent indication that an event was taking place. As someone who does not live locally and does not follow football or stadium events, I had no independent reason to believe special restrictions were in force.

Interestingly, Newham's Event Day parking webpage states:

"Please note that kick off times and dates can occasionally change last minute. Newham Council cannot accept responsibility for the content of external websites and any information relied upon is at your own risk."

This seems problematic given that motorists are effectively expected to obtain Event Day information from sources beyond the bay signage itself.

I have also found two London Tribunals decisions which appear highly relevant:

2240208187

2240495930

In both cases the adjudicator allowed the appeal because the bay signage did not adequately explain how motorists could identify Event Days and because motorists parking in permit bays are entitled to rely on the restrictions displayed on the bay sign itself.

Separately, I successfully filed a Witness Statement with the Traffic Enforcement Centre after not receiving the original Notice to Owner. The Charge Certificate has since been revoked and the case reset whereupon I reappealed the notice to owner and received this current notice of rejection yesterday - 2nd June.

I have attached a Google Drive folder containing the evidence referred to in this post inc:
* The Notice of Rejection letter;
* My formal representation appeal as a google doc
* Relevant screenshots and photographs supporting my position;

Google Drive folder:


Location where driver parked:


CPZ sign/location relied upon by the council:


My questions are:

1. Do members think the tribunal decisions above are sufficiently on point to give me a realistic prospect of success?

2. Has anyone successfully challenged Newham Event Day signage on similar grounds recently?

3. Are there any additional arguments, case law, or evidence I should obtain before submitting formal representations and potentially proceeding to tribunal?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated - I do believe this is predatory by Newham Council and goes against common sense.

Thank you, that's super helpful.

The case you've mentioned seem to back my point and it sounds like Newham isn't great at putting together their own evidence or legal case well enough - so she essentially won just by taking it to ETA and them being inadequate. That's worked for me on a separate occasion tbf! I could try that?

Looking at my own case, one issue I intend to raise is whether Newham can actually prove that I could not have reached my parking location without passing and observing the CPZ signs they rely upon. Recently with all the roadworks near West Ham station, I'm even more convinced that it's possible to not see any - I've genuinely not seen any when coming from Ilford/Barking sides to where I parked over the last few months (down the same road with West Ham station).

From my recollection of last Nov when I got this PCN - there weren't roadworks as closeby but even the sign I likely passed on my journey coming from Canning Town station is a decent distance away from where I ended up parking and the Event Day information is a small line of text at the bottom of an already busy sign at a busy roundabout. But it seems signage is not relevant to why she won - more just the good fortune of the council not be prepared enough.

I guess my question is in terms of a tribunal appeal, are there any new particular pieces of evidence you think I should prioritise gathering now? Or should I share the same appeal I sent to the council and the evidence I've put in the folder to the tribunal and hope for the best.

My own case was last Nov 2025 so I guess maybe the sign perhaps could still have the two event date issue but I have no photos or proof of that.

If anyone has any further thoughts I'd be appreciative, i think it's genuinely robbery how they get away with the very very inadequate signage - i'll probably appeal on Sunday (3 days from now) if there's no more responses perhaps.

Thank you for the kind words! I find this case particularly frustrating and unfair which motivated all my energy and research. It's genuinely not an excuse to say that the signage from the council is an easy motorist cash cow - why is every other important sign large and visible - as legally mandated in every car park - but the sign worth £80-£160 of your hard-earned money on sporadic days every month is one miniscule line of unbolded text at the bottom of an already long & busy sign on the side of the road which is 20 mph. And there is no other reliable means of knowing whether or not it's an event day but that one location - nor where to even ask or easily search for. No QR code. no URL. No integration with a parking app. No helpful yellow sign near the train station etc? Just a tiny analog line with 5 characters - 10 minutes away from where you may actually park. (IF INDEED) you actually pass by the route with the sign.

I'll happily take my chances with the ETA then and take this to my local councillors even if I lose. It's unjust.

Best

Hi Tincombe!

Fair questions, let me think out loud too - cos to be honest, I'm still figuring out my best argument.

To clarify, I am not saying that I definitely did or did not pass a CPZ sign on the day. My point is that the council appears to assume that I must have passed and observed one, but I have not yet seen evidence from the council showing:

* the specific CPZ sign relied upon on 30/11/2025;
* the wording displayed on that date;
* where that sign was located relative to my route; or
* evidence that it was unavoidable and sufficiently visible to a motorist.

The September sign I posted was not intended to be evidence of the sign on the day. It was simply a Google Street View example of what appears to be the likely nearest CPZ entry sign that I may have encountered when approaching the location. After receipt of the PCN, I checked my probable route and was surprised to see this sign.

To answer your questions:

**1. Do I believe I passed a sign with correct wording, but that it was too small to read?**

Yes - it is likely I passed the sign referenced above but I hand-on-heart cannot say I would have been able to read or notice or remember this sign given the small text, and distance before my eventual parking location and belief I had correctly understood the parking restrictions in that area.

**2. Is the CPZ sign I posted the actual sign relied upon by the council on the day?**

No - this a Google Maps screenshot I took to show the sign I likely passed on my way to the parking location. They have not responded with any evidence of the specific CPZ sign I passed. I have no way of showing what the sign looked like on that date.

**3. Has the council provided photographs or evidence of the actual CPZ sign that was in place on 30/11/2025?**

No - I believe not - this is not in the NOR or original PCN evidence.

**4. Has the council identified the route they say I must have taken to reach the parking place?**

Not to my knowledge, this has not been conveyed by the NOR.

**5. Can I establish how I actually approached the location on the day?**

Yeah I drove from Canning Town station to West Ham station on a route that definitely (not 100% due to the time distance from today) would have taken me by the sign I have screenshotted now.

My concern is therefore twofold.

**Firstly, proof.**

The NOR states that I "would have passed at least one of these signs on your way to the above location".

However, I have not seen evidence identifying which sign they rely upon, where it was situated on the relevant date, or that I could not have reached the bay without passing it.

The Edward Houghton decision (2250234820) seems relevant because the adjudicator required the council to prove precisely that point.

**Secondly, adequacy of the signage.**

Even if the council can establish that I passed a CPZ entry sign - even lets say the one i've referenced, I do not believe Event Day information is adequately conveyed to reasonable motorists.

My key frustration is that the Event Day notice appears as a relatively small line of text at the bottom of an already busy CPZ sign which I hope the screenshot can show especially as motorists are expected to absorb while navigating this junction, traffic, road markings, other signage and surrounding vehicles.

In addition, the bay sign itself gave no indication of:

* how Event Days are identified;
* where Event Day information can be found;
* whether motorists should check CPZ signs; or
* whether they should consult a website.

It just says "On event days 9am - 9pm"

This is the aspect that I believe aligns more closely with cases 2240208187 and 2240495930.

So i'm still open to feedback and also the hope that they don't have their wits together and file a poor case against me.

But I think my primary argument is not "I definitely didn't pass a CPZ sign".

Rather, it is:

(a) the council has not yet proved what sign I allegedly passed, that it displayed the relevant information, or that it was unavoidable; and

(b) even if I did pass one, the overall signage regime did not adequately convey the restriction to a reasonably diligent non-resident motorist.

Does that seem like the correct way to frame it, or am I still missing something important?

Haven't taken on Newham before - but I think I surely have some kind of case here.