I would be very grateful for any help on how to best approach this:
Hi all,
I would be grateful for advice before I submit an informal challenge to RBKC.
Council: Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Location: Princedale Road
Date of PCN: Wednesday 17 June 2026
Time of alleged contravention: 10:20
Contravention: 21u – parked wholly or partly in a suspended bay or space
I found the PCN on my windscreen at about 12:45pm on Wednesday 17 June 2026.
The vehicle was parked on Princedale Road. I am a disabled resident of RBKC and the vehicle was displaying an RBKC disabled residents’ Purple Badge. I also hold a Blue Badge issued by RBKC. I understand that the Purple Badge does not allow parking in a suspended bay, so I am not arguing that the badge itself exempts the vehicle if the bay was properly suspended.
The issue is that when I found the PCN at around 12:45pm, there was no visible suspension sign attached to the bays/signage where I was parked. At approximately 12:50pm I spoke to Civil Enforcement Officer KC2731 nearby who was not the officer who issued the ticket. The CEO confirmed there was no visible suspension sign for the bay I was parked in and said I would need to appeal/challenge the PCN.
I had checked my car on Monday and did not see any suspension sign then. I was unwell on Tuesday and was not able to check the car that day.
On Tuesday I checked RBKC’s online parking suspension service, but the webpage was unavailable and states that this is due to the cyber attack which occurred in November 2025. I have taken screenshots of this. This meant I could not check the council’s online suspension records.
I have since checked the RBKC PCN portal. The council’s photographs do appear to show a yellow parking suspension sign attached to a lamppost at the time the PCN was issued. I do not know when the sign was put up, whether it was still there continuously, when it was removed.
RBKC usually phone using an automated telephone service to warn residents if there vehicle is parked in a bay that is due to be suspended. On this occasion I was not warned by telephone about the suspension, despite RBKC holding my phone number and despite the vehicle displaying an RBKC disabled residents’ Purple Badge.
My questions are:
What is the best angle for an informal challenge in these circumstances?
Should I focus on the difficulty checking for a suspension on the day before?
Is there an argument for inadequate/uncertain signage, given that the council photos show a sign at 10:20 but there was no sign visible at 12:45?
Should I ask RBKC for the suspension log, the date/time the sign was erected and removed, CEO notes, all photos, and proof of the exact bays suspended?
Does the online suspension service being down help at all, or is that only a mitigation/fairness point?
Are there any London Tribunals cases or RBKC-specific points I should rely on?
Should I mention disability/Purple Badge/no phone warning, or keep the challenge focused mainly on signage and proof of suspension?
I have attached PCN and council photos as well as my photos taken at 12.45 with no suspension signs visible.
Thanks in advance for any help.
My photos taken at 12.45
