Free Traffic Legal Advice

Good afternoon everyone,

I have been given a parking fine for an on street local authority parking bay even though there is no signage for the bay.

For context, there are two adjacent bays on the street (clearly divided by a line) where one has a sign, and the bay in which I have parked for a considerable amount of time does not; it previously did but was vandalised and removed months ago.

When there was a sign the restrictions for the bay were very different from the adjacent bay and therefore couldn’t be considered one continuous parking zone.

Parking has not been restricted in this bay for months as confirmed by the local parking officers and local authority office, so we have been parking in there for free and not received any tickets.

However recently they have decided after sending a warning letter they can now enforce parking restrictions even though no sign is present. I got caught by this as was given a warning ticket and actual ticket in consecutive days as I had not seen the warning.

Am I wrong for thinking they shouldn’t be able to enforce parking restrictions and give tickets without a sign present, warning or not?

Thanks in advance!

Hi all,

Hoping for some speedy help as my car has been towed by the council and taken to a car pound which requires a huge fee to release.

I have been parking on a road in Walworth, Southwark, for over 2 years where no signage (except for a 2 month window in 2025) has been present in a bay which was previously a parking permit only bay. For roughly 18 months you were able to park in this bay without a permit as there was no sign, agreed previously by the council as they cancelled a couple of my PCNs for that reason when given in error by new member of staff who wasn't aware. Around 4 months ago a paper warning was left on my car stating a fine could be given for parking here even though a sign wasn't and still isn't present - there are now other signs on the road or surrounding which would indicate any parking restrictions. There is an adjacent but distinct bay on the same road which you can pay to park in. I am currently challenging all 5 PCNs with the council but they are dismissing me despite by evidence which includes photos of the bay with no sign present, as well as the below from myself;


Good afternoon,

Please see below my challenges of the below PCN's.

JK18987437, JK19029399, JK19061416, JK17555685
There is no signage in this bay and therefore no parking restrictions enforceable. The Southwark website states the following "Parking bays have white markings on the road. Each bay sign states who can park and the hours of enforcement." - . As you can see this outlines the need for signage to be present for parking restrictions, neither of which is the case in this case.

Your website also states "In order for bays to be defined, they
must be marked out with particular types
of road marking that are prescribed
under statute (the TSRGD). If they are
designated bays then they also need to
be supported by upright signs (for which
see standard DS.003) and – as
discussed in ‘a’ TMOs" - https://www.southwark.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2024-10/ds_005_arranging_and_deliniating_parking_bays.pdf refer to 1.2.C. . As you can see this outlines the need for upright signs or road markings to be present for parking restrictions, neither of which is the case in this case.

Furthermore, your website also states "Traffic signs may be either upright signs
or road markings. Their use is governed
mainly by the statutory requirements of
the Traffic Signs Regulations and
General Direction 2016 (TSRGD). They will generally
only introduce them in order to provide
warning of some safety concern or to
help make a Traffic Management Order
enforceable (e.g. a parking, access or
turning restriction)."  - https://www.southwark.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2024-10/ds_300_overaching_requirements_and_principles_for_signs_rev_c.pdf 1.2.a. As you can see this outlines the need for upright signs or road markings to be present for parking restrictions, neither of which is the case in this case.

In addition, Traffic Signs Regulations and General Direction 2016 (TSRGD) as per the government traffic guide manual (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c78f895e5274a0ebfec719b/traffic-signs-manual-chapter-03.pdf) states that; 
"For a parking sign to be legally enforceable by local authorities or the police, it must adhere to TSRGD parameters:
Clearance and Siting: The sign must be clearly visible and legible from the road, typically requiring specific mounting heights and post setbacks.
Double Signage: If the bay spans a large area, signs are typically required at the entry/beginning and end of the restricted zone.
Road Markings (Yellow Lines): Upright signs are designed to work in conjunction with road markings. A sign regulating parking on a street is generally invalid if the corresponding lines (e.g., single or double yellow lines) are faded, broken, or incorrectly drawn. 
Authorisation: Any non-standard sign (which departs from permitted TSRGD dimensions, colors, or symbols) requires special authorization from the Department for Transport (DfT). "
Another statement from the TSRGD document is - "The normal regulatory signs must still be provided to make the
restriction enforceable"

In relation to being in a CPZ - the following applies from TSRGD; 
The extent of a type (a) CPZ will be determined by specific characteristics. For example, the zone could be an area where a specific parking permit is valid. It might be an area where the type of parking, such as pay and display (possibly with uniform charges), is the same throughout. Where the parking is time‑limited with no charge, the prohibition on return to the parking place might be applied to the whole zone. This would be appropriate only for small zones, as it would be unreasonable to expect drivers not to return to any part of a large area; enforcement would also be difficult. The signs located at the parking bays in this type of zone would include the legend “No return to Zone A within 2 hours” (or similar), as prescribed by S18‑2 (permitted expressions for parking restriction signs). In this case the zone identifier would be shown on the entry sign and would also apply to any permit parking within the zone. In an 198 CONTROLLED PARKING ZONES area with a mix of different types of parking, a zone could represent a small geographical area, the name of which may be added to the entry sign as a zone identifier

As you can see from the images in my PCNs, the signage requirements have not been met in any of the 4 cases.

As you can see from the above and accompanying images in my PCN, there was not clear or adequate signage for the bays in which I was parked in all four of the PCN's above. 

JK18627114
The same as above applies, however in this case you can see that the sign in the PCN is taken from the adjacent bay which is deliberately misleading.
In any case, the requirements of signage are still not met as in my previous PCN.



You will see that there are two distinct bays separated by a white line - the sign above the grey RECO van is the one which hasn't been there for the majority of the last 2 years (you can see this if you see the July 2024 street view).




Any help greatly appreciated!

I did collect, the windscreen was **** on pick up as well which it wasn't when it was picked up - photos to show so hopefully not an issue.

Trying to upload but struggling, all the PCNs are essentially the same so if I manage to upload one would that suffice?

Playing cat and mouse with a missing sign can lead to tears - I presume you are not eligible for a permit.

But the bay sign must be there (and you don't need all that stuff to say so).

What PCN was used for the tow and what date.