Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hi all,

I’d be really grateful for advice on how to handle a PCN that has now reached the Notice to Owner stage. I need to send a second appeal asap.

What happened
On 31 August / 1 September, I parked on Tobago Street (Tower Hamlets) at about 21:45. I am a Blue Badge holder due  to a illness, which can cause sudden/urgent symptoms. I wasn’t feeling well that night, so I needed to park close to where I was going.

I displayed my Blue Badge on the dashboard and placed my arrival time (21:45) clearly next to it. I didn’t have my clock available, so I wrote the time on a note, but it was clearly visible.

A CEO issued a PCN at 00:03. Their photos are timestamped 23:52 and 00:03.

Under Blue Badge rules, I can park on double yellow lines for up to 3 hours, so from 21:45 → 00:45. At 00:03, I was still fully within the permitted time.

Position of the vehicle
My car was partly on double yellow lines and partly within a business permit bay.

The sign for the business bay was Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm.
The contravention happened just after midnight on Saturday and so the bay restriction was not in force.

I also have a screenshot from Tower Hamlets’ own website showing that business bays operate Mon–Fri only.

PCN issued
The PCN code is 01 – “Parked in a restricted street during prescribed hours.”

But:

The business bay was not in prescribed hours at the time, and

The double yellows were permitted because of my Blue Badge and displayed arrival time.

So in both possible positions, no operative restriction applied at the time of issue.

Informal challenge
I submitted an informal challenge explaining all of the above, including my medical condition, but Tower Hamlets rejected it with a standard template response saying the vehicle was “parked in contravention”. They did not address any of the points I raised.

Current stage – Notice to Owner received
I have now received the NTO, so I need to submit a formal representation.
This is the stage where I want to make sure my arguments are clear, structured and strong enough to succeed either with the council or later at London Tribunals if necessary.

Evidence I have
Photo of Blue Badge (front & back)

Arrival time note (21:45)

Screenshot from Tower Hamlets’ own website confirming business bay hours Mon–Fri only

Explanation of Medical condition hence why I need to park close by

What I need help with
How best to frame the argument that the alleged contravention (Code 01) did not occur

Whether to emphasise the bay being out of hours

How to address the “half in half out” issue

How to present the medical context appropriately

Any recommended wording or tribunal-friendly phrasing

Thank you in advance for any help.

Sorry see here, thanks!: https://imgpile.com/p/RDYDj5T

Please try again this should work now, I tested on incognito: https://imgpile.com/p/RDYDj5T

Thanks or the replies, so as I have now got the Notice to Owner,  I just want to ask how I should go about things at this stage.

From what I understand, the next step is the formal representation, but I’m not sure exactly how to word it or what points I need to focus on. The main issue for me is that the contravention they used (Code 01 – “restricted street during prescribed hours”) doesn’t seem to apply, because at that time:

my Blue Badge was out with the arrival time

I was still inside the 3-hour limit on the yellow lines

the business bay was out of hours anyway

So how should I put all of this into the formal reps?
Is it just a case of explaining that the contravention didn’t occur, or is there a specific way I need to lay it out?

Any advice on how to handle the NTO stage would be really appreciated.