Draft representation:
Dear Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea,
The alleged contravention did not occur.
The Kensington and Chelsea (Charged-For Parking Places) Consolidation Order 2023 does not contain any provision that allows a parking bay to be suspended for diplomatic vehicles, so the purported suspension is ultra-vires and invalid.
If the council wanted to temporarily turn this into a parking space for diplomatic vehicles then a TTRO should have been made any any PCN should have been issued for code 41 - Stopped in a parking place designated for diplomatic vehicles.
In the circumstances the contravention alleged did not occur, and the PCN must be cancelled.
Yours faithfully,
As always send this online, keep a copy of what you've sent, and keep a screenshot of the confirmation page.
The traffic order for this location would appear to be The Kensington and Chelsea (Charged-For Parking Places) Consolidation Order 2023 (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KvR1GoiFM7wG6Tm_1nQXJ6UvZk0RmXNS/view), the only limb that allows parking to be suspended in order to provide parking to some other vehicle is at article 13(f):
for the purpose of providing temporary parking space for a goods carrying vehicle, where that vehicle is required for the transportation of equipment that is necessary for work that is being carried out to a property in the vicinity of that parking place;
That is obviously intended for construction vehicles and cannot possibly apply to diplomatic vehicles, so the suspension is ultra-vires. If the suspension is ultra-vires, the bay was not suspended at all so the contravention cannot possibly have occurred.
I have made some further enquiries to rule out a TTRO but odds are that the council simply don't know what they're doing, which is surprisingly common.
Hi CP,
I guess that I am waiting for the NtO to come through and raise this as the main reason that the contravention did not occur.
I am always happy to admit to a mistake, however, I have a strong belief that the authorities should adhere to their legal obligations. Otherwise, we operate in a society where the authorities can operate without adherence to the legal processes and as a lay person we have to abide to all of the laws.
The traffic order for this location would appear to be The Kensington and Chelsea (Charged-For Parking Places) Consolidation Order 2023 (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KvR1GoiFM7wG6Tm_1nQXJ6UvZk0RmXNS/view), the only limb that allows parking to be suspended in order to provide parking to some other vehicle is at article 13(f):
for the purpose of providing temporary parking space for a goods carrying vehicle, where that vehicle is required for the transportation of equipment that is necessary for work that is being carried out to a property in the vicinity of that parking place;
That is obviously intended for construction vehicles and cannot possibly apply to diplomatic vehicles, so the suspension is ultra-vires. If the suspension is ultra-vires, the bay was not suspended at all so the contravention cannot possibly have occurred.
I have made some further enquiries to rule out a TTRO but odds are that the council simply don't know what they're doing, which is surprisingly common.