Free Traffic Legal Advice
Live cases legal advice => Civil penalty charge notices (Councils, TFL and so on) => Topic started by: queenofmunchkins on March 11, 2026, 02:51:31 pm
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Thank you so much for your detailed response to my stupidity. (Wish I could tell you how I missed them... I think I just wasn't looking for them, so my eyes just slid over them.)
I'll see if a friend can do a quick sweep for signs on Station Crescent, and they're there and I missed them too, it'll be £80 to teach me my lesson about scoping for road restrictions when being silly enough to drive in London.
Thank you again!!
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I have to say I am surprised you missed those big signs, but anyway....
The road you turned out of is sufficiently close to the restriction signs to demand it has an advance notice sign. If it has one, then your best option is probably the discount. If not, then you could appeal on inadequate signage. Adequacy of signage is a duty on councils under Regulation 18 (1)(a) of The Local Authorities’ Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1996/2489/regulation/18
The trouble is that this is subjective, your 'inadequate' is the council's 'adequate', so they'll reject any appeal based on this, not least because they want your money, and most people cough-up when they get a rejection, (like >95%). So if there is no advance sign, it is your decision whether to fold and pay, or submit representations, and then, when rejected, register an appeal at London Tribunals. If you win, you pay nothing, and if you lose you pay the PCN penalty, but there are no additional costs. Virtually all hearings are now by phone or video. Advice is to never request a papers-only adjudication, i.e no hearing.
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It's possible I'm SOL on this, but it just seems so dumb I want to at least see if there's something I can do about it.
I was visiting Greenwich for a few days, and went to park at Westcombe Park on the morning of the 25th Feb - Car Park A was full, so I wanted to check Car Park B. It's on the other side of a railway bridge which goes over a road. Apparently, the stretch of road under the bridge is a bus gate, which I did not realise until I saw this fine. There were signs, as is clear on the photos attached to the file, but I just did not see them. They maybe weren't visible before I actually reached the junction, at which point I was checking for traffic, but I know I also ought to have been checking for relevant road signs etc. I'm pretty sure I actually did check for a "no left turn" sign - possibly why I glazed over the others. I know that on its own isn't a reason to appeal the fine.
Anyway. Here's the junction on google maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/2ydgneqbn4kj1YPHA. The signs weren't present when the photo was taken - they're part of a low traffic initiative or something which RBG initiated in the last couple of years. I turned left out of station crescent onto Westcombe Hill, which is where the bus gate began. What seems really unreasonable is the location of the bus gate, blocking access between the two car parks; the only other route, I believe, is to drive about twenty minutes around the bridge. Yet, I don't think "that's a stupid restriction" is a valid reason to appeal a fine. I'd LOVE to be told otherwise, but I'm very ready to hear, "Just pay the reduced price" - I DID miss the signs.
TIA! PCN and screenshot: https://imgpile.com/p/w77PFdd
Ref: GR24780260
Plate: NJ04 GKC