Author Topic: PCN Camden - using a route restricted to certain vehicles local buses and cycles only  (Read 3008 times)

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Any feedback on the appeal template below?

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I respectfully appeal against the above PCN on the grounds that the alleged contravention did not occur due to inadequate and misleading signage at the location, as has already been confirmed by this tribunal in three previous decisions involving the same road layout and signs.

1. Inadequate Signage at Tottenham Court Road / Howland Street
The signage is placed after the junction, adjacent to a pedestrian crossing. There is no advance warning, and the blue directional arrow at the traffic lights misleads drivers into believing they must turn left, when in fact the straight-ahead route is only restricted during certain hours. This confusing setup caused the alleged contravention.

2. Consistent Tribunal Findings – Three Precedents
The following appeal decisions have all found the signage at this exact location to be non-compliant:

Khan v Camden (Case 2240583109, 25 March 2025)
Adjudicator Sean Stanton-Dunne allowed the appeal, stating:

“The motorist... will not see the restricted route sign until it is too late... The blue sign directional arrow is also misleading...”

Curland v Camden (Case 2250121019, 11 June 2025)
The same adjudicator again ruled the signage inadequate. After an adjournment to allow the Council to supply evidence of advance signage, Camden withdrew the case and the appeal was allowed.

Kanzen v Camden (Case 2250057339)
Once more, Adjudicator Stanton-Dunne confirmed:

“The motorist... will not see the restricted route sign... until it is too late... The blue sign directional arrow is also misleading...”

These repeated findings demonstrate that the signage at this junction fails to comply with statutory requirements and creates avoidable confusion for motorists, resulting in repeated wrongful enforcement.

3. Additional Personal Context
My wife was driving to collect our son from the UCH Macmillan Cancer Centre, where he was receiving cancer treatment. Due to his limited mobility and treatment side effects, driving was the only viable option. The road layout and misleading signage made it impossible to comply despite best efforts.

4. Conclusion
In light of:

- Three previous appeal decisions confirming the signage is inadequate,
- Camden’s failure to remedy or update the signs,
- The misleading blue arrow and absence of proper advance warning,
- And the essential nature of the journey,

I respectfully ask that this appeal be allowed and the PCN cancelled.


You need to emphasise the signs ****-up in that the traffic signals have a mandatory Turn Left arrow, but the PCN was not issued for this, indicating it is now obsolete, but has not been removed. The PCN was for passing the Buses Only sign which is subject to a days and hours restriction on its applicability. Therefore in view of the incorrect signs, and the lack of any advance warning you request that the PCN be cancelled and cite the cases you have listed.
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@Incandescent
Does this capture it? I have made a reference to the left arrow.

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I respectfully appeal the above PCN on the basis that the alleged contravention did not occur due to inadequate, misleading, and contradictory signage, as confirmed in three previous decisions by this Tribunal at the exact same location.

1. Signage Defects – Inconsistent and Misleading
The alleged contravention occurred at Tottenham Court Road, just after the junction with Howland Street. The signage at this location is fundamentally flawed:

- The "Buses and Cycles Only" restriction sign, which is time-limited, is placed after the junction, giving no adequate advance warning.
- The blue directional arrow at the traffic lights is a mandatory "Turn Left" sign, but the PCN was not issued for failing to comply with it.
- This means Camden is enforcing a restriction that directly contradicts another regulatory sign at the same junction, creating confusion and uncertainty for motorists.

The presence of an obsolete or misleading Turn Left sign—still treated as legally binding by its design—renders the signage layout contradictory and unlawful. The Council’s own CCTV footage fails to show any advance signage warning drivers of the time-limited restriction straight ahead.

2. Tribunal Precedent – Three Cases Confirm Inadequate Signage
Three appeals have already been allowed at this same location, all heard by Adjudicator Sean Stanton-Dunne:

>> Khan v Camden (Case 2240583109, 25 March 2025)
Quote
“In my judgement, the motorist travelling along Tottenham Court Road will not see the restricted route sign until it is too late to safely avoid using the route. The motorist will, of course, see the blue sign at the traffic lights with the directional arrow directing traffic to turn to the left but the PCN was not issued for the alleged contravention of failing to drive in the direction shown by the arrow on a blue sign. The blue sign directional arrow is also misleading as the restricted route beyond the lights can be used outside of controlled hours.”

>> Curland v Camden (Case 2250121019, 11 June 2025)
After a hearing was adjourned for Camden to produce evidence of advance signage, the Council withdrew, and the adjudicator allowed the appeal.

>> Kanzen v Camden (Case 2250057339, 08 Apr 2025)
Again, the adjudicator confirmed:
Quote
“In my judgement, the motorist travelling along Tottenham Court Road will not see the restricted route sign with its controlled hours until it is too late to safely avoid using the route. There is a blue sign at the traffic lights with a directional arrow directing traffic to turn to the left but the PCN was not issued for the alleged contravention of failing to drive in the direction shown by the arrow on a blue sign. The blue sign directional arrow is also misleading as the restricted route beyond the lights can be used outside of controlled hours.”

These repeated findings show that Camden has failed to remedy unlawful signage at this location, and continues to issue PCNs under conditions that do not meet the legal standard for enforceability.

3. Personal Context – Exceptional Circumstances
On this occasion, my wife was driving to collect our son from the UCH Macmillan Cancer Centre, where he was receiving treatment for cancer. His medical condition and limited mobility made public transport unviable. The poor signage and conflicting directions made compliance unintentionally impossible.

4. Conclusion – Appeal Should Be Allowed
In light of:

- The contradictory signage, with a still-visible mandatory Turn Left arrow not enforced,
- The absence of any advance warning of the time-limited restriction,
- Three Tribunal decisions confirming the signage is non-compliant,
- Camden’s ongoing failure to correct the layout,
- And the essential medical nature of the journey,

I respectfully request that this appeal be allowed and the PCN cancelled.
« Last Edit: July 21, 2025, 02:56:28 pm by bigred247 »

Any thoughts?

If you are appealing to the tribunal you don't need to include anything until you see their evidence pack should they contest.

@stamfordman
Thank you for your reply.
I usually add comments in the box (below) when making an appeal. Are you saying there is no harm in leaving this blank, and later add my appeal, when the council has submitted its evidence pack/claim? Is their any detrement in adding context initially? Can the appeal explanation be modified later?

« Last Edit: July 22, 2025, 02:57:54 pm by bigred247 »

I believe it is the 28th day today, so i will be making an appeal before midnight. Nothing like cutting it in fine.

I would initially say you rely on your representations but add a few notes on the rejection, which hasn't addressed in particular the sandwich between two vehicles, the reference to 'signs' plural when I think there is only one, and maybe others - check the rejection against your reps.

Go for a telephone or Teams meeting.
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@stamfordman @Incandescent

Hi folks,

I had my Tribunal hearing yesterday, but my appeal was unsuccessful. The hearing was adjudicated by Andrew Harman.

In my argument, I cited previous successful cases (involving other drivers) that were handled by Sean Stanton-Dunne. However, right from the off, Adjudicator Harman made it clear that he didn't agree with the outcomes of those previous cases, so I feared the worst.

I tried to stand my ground, but he stated that precedent in traffic law doesn't necessitate that the outcome will follow previous decisions and that each case is subjective.

Given that he's explicitly disagreeing with established Tribunal decisions, is it worth appealing, or should I take the loss on this occasion?

PS. I did receieve an evidence pack from the council, but due to work and family pressures, completely forgot to post this here for feedback.

Quote

Adjudicator's Reasons

The appellant attended the hearing of this appeal today on the Microsoft Teams video conferencing
platform.

The council did not attend the hearing, it not being expected to do so.

The contravention alleged in these proceedings was that this vehicle, at Tottenham Court Road, by
the junction with Howland Street, used a route restricted to certain vehicles.

The appellant made submissions in accordance with those set out in writing, he explaining that he
was driving to collect his son from the UCH Macmillan Cancer Centre, he raising the issue of signage.

On the evidence before me, the appellant drove through regulatory signage posted at this junction
giving a mandatory direction to proceed left at it, the vehicle then being driven past a regulatory sign
posted on the left warning the appellant of the restriction.

I was satisfied on the council's video footage of the incident that that latter sign would have been
within the appellant's line of vision, it being clear and unobstructed.

I did not accept that there was any conflict in signage at this location, or that signage was confusing,
and I found signage, taken as a whole, to be adequate.

I respectfully disagreed with the adjudicator on this point in the cases cited by the appellant.

I accepted that driving in central London is not easy, and I noted the purpose of the appellant's
journey, but I was not satisfied that he had a defence to this penalty charge, and I found this
contravention proved.

The appeal was refused.

Andrew Harman
Adjudicator
10th November 2025
2250363958
CU70801006

« Last Edit: November 11, 2025, 09:25:57 am by bigred247 »

Disagreeing with other decisions is not a ground for review.
I REGRET THAT, FOR THE PRESENT, I AM UNABLE TO TAKE ON ANY MORE CASES AS A REPRESENTATIVE AT THE LONDON TRIBUNALS. THIS IS FOR BOTH PERSONAL AND LEGAL REASONS. PLEASE DO NOT PM ME UNLESS YOU HAVE POSTED YOUR THREAD ON THE FORUM AND I WILL ATTEMPT TO GIVE ADVICE.


If you do not challenge, you join "The Mugged Club".

cp8759 and mrmustard are true geniuses. I know my place in the hierarchy of The Three Musketeers. 😊 "The Clinician", "The Gentleman" and "The Showman"

There are "known knowns" which we may never have wished to know. This applies to them. But in the field the idea that there are also "unknown unknowns" doesn't apply as they hide in the aleatoric lottery. I know this is true and need to be prepared knowing the "unknown unknowns" may well apply.

To Socrates from "Hippocrates"

Disagreeing with other decisions is not a ground for review.
Indeed it isn't but surely this "august body of adjudicators" should accept that identical circumstances should give the same outcome. OK, the date is different !

https://www.ftla.uk/civil-penalty-charge-notices-(councils-tfl-and-so-on)/camden-using-a-route-restricted-to-certain-vehicles-local-buses-cycles-only-urge/msg96927/#msg96927

This is why I don't do Mondays.

****

As per my usual advice: tis impossible to advise re a review unless we know ALL the angles raised e.g.: the TMO supplied by Camden.
« Last Edit: November 11, 2025, 11:15:01 am by Hippocrates »
I REGRET THAT, FOR THE PRESENT, I AM UNABLE TO TAKE ON ANY MORE CASES AS A REPRESENTATIVE AT THE LONDON TRIBUNALS. THIS IS FOR BOTH PERSONAL AND LEGAL REASONS. PLEASE DO NOT PM ME UNLESS YOU HAVE POSTED YOUR THREAD ON THE FORUM AND I WILL ATTEMPT TO GIVE ADVICE.


If you do not challenge, you join "The Mugged Club".

cp8759 and mrmustard are true geniuses. I know my place in the hierarchy of The Three Musketeers. 😊 "The Clinician", "The Gentleman" and "The Showman"

There are "known knowns" which we may never have wished to know. This applies to them. But in the field the idea that there are also "unknown unknowns" doesn't apply as they hide in the aleatoric lottery. I know this is true and need to be prepared knowing the "unknown unknowns" may well apply.

To Socrates from "Hippocrates"

@Hippocrates
I suspect you mean the evidence pack? I will upload a link to the doc shortly.

@Hippocrates
@Incandescent
Apologies for the late posting. This is Camden's evidence pack. What do you think?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oUCDuBaAlwLcOQzKyM3Fds3eti9Pe7x1/view?usp=sharing