Free Traffic Legal Advice
Live cases legal advice => Civil penalty charge notices (Councils, TFL and so on) => Topic started by: TrixBear on November 06, 2024, 06:56:30 pm
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As we're looking at a number of blue badge cases in disabled bays how about this decision yesterday that Mr Mustard represented and only won on a different issue.
I think the adjudicator misdirected himself on the regulations he cites - do they apply to waiting restrictions not parking bays? But I haven't looked in detail.
The Local Authorities' Traffic Orders (Exemptions for Disabled Persons) (England) Regulations 2000
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2000/683/made#:~:text=Regulation%208%20relates%20to%20exemptions,Road%20Traffic%20Regulation%20Act%201984.
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Case reference 2250101088
Appellant Abigail Seltzer
Authority London Borough of Barnet
VRM EU69HFB
PCN Details
PCN AG47057893
Contravention date 20 Nov 2024
Contravention time 20:47:00
Contravention location The Riding
Penalty amount GBP 130.00
Contravention Parked in disabled bay without displaying badge
Referral date -
Decision Date 07 May 2025
Adjudicator Andrew Harman
Appeal decision Appeal allowed
Direction cancel the Penalty Charge Notice and the Notice to Owner.
Reasons The appellant's authorised representative, Mr Dishman, attended the video hearing of this appeal today. The council did not attend the hearing, it not being expected to do so.
I reserved my decision.
The contravention alleged in these proceedings is that this vehicle was parked in a designated disabled person's parking place without displaying a valid disabled person's badge in the prescribed manner.
The vehicle was parked on a 3 hour maximum stay bay.
There is no dispute that there was a disabled badge displayed in the vehicle unaccompanied by a disc that, on the authority's case, being a requirement.
Mr Dishman submitted that there was no such requirement under the Traffic Management Order, (TMO).
I refer to Regulation 8 of The Local Authorities' Traffic Orders (Exemptions for Disabled Persons) (England) Regulations 2000.
Reg 8 (4) provides:
Where the period of the prohibition exceeds 3 hours the exemption shall be for a period of 3 hours subject to the conditions that–
(a) the period of exempted waiting does not begin less than one hour after a previous period of exempted waiting by the same vehicle in the same road on the same day;
(b) a parking disc is displayed in the relevant position on the vehicle marked to show the quarter hour period during which the period of exempted waiting began.
This prohibition applies 24/7 it thus exceeding 3 hours.
Although the TMO does not require the display of a disc, it is created under section 6 of the Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984, so the 2000 Regulations, and thus Regulation 8 thereof, apply.
Notwithstanding that on the appellant's case the vehicle was not parked for more than three hours I am therefore satisfied that for the Regulation 8 exemption to apply, a parking disc must be displayed. Given it was not the exemption is not applicable.
I therefore reject Mr Dishman's submissions around this issue.
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I am however persuaded by the submission he makes as to the failure of the council to provide to me a copy of the PCN said to have been issued in these proceedings, as it is required to do under the Regulations, only the first page thereof being produced.
I am satisfied that that breach of the regulations amounts to a procedural impropriety, and I must accordingly allow the appeal.
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That's the first time I've seen a council fettering their discretion before issuing a PCN.
I'd be sorely tempted to use the GDPR right to rectification https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/individual-rights/right-to-rectification/ to insist the council corrects that letter and all their other records of the case, it might teach someone a lesson in accuracy.
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This is a disgraceful letter.
(https://i.imgur.com/HLSonZU.png)
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I already submitted before the suggestions today so I didn't tell them to 'see attached' in the letter but I did upload them. Will see what they say and keep you updated.
Thanks all.
Good morning I am very interested to see the results of your representation please
They cancelled my PCN but in a very telling off 'don't do it again' manner, ::) They also said I wouldn't be let off in the future. Here's their response: https://imgur.com/a/beP9Fui
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I already submitted before the suggestions today so I didn't tell them to 'see attached' in the letter but I did upload them. Will see what they say and keep you updated.
Thanks all.
Good morning I am very interested to see the results of your representation please
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I already submitted before the suggestions today so I didn't tell them to 'see attached' in the letter but I did upload them. Will see what they say and keep you updated.
Thanks all.
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The OP mentioned the supporting case decisions in the draft. Since they are referenced they should be included in the text or attached. Or don't mention them at all.
If the council includes a clock requirement in the TRO then surely they have to also put up a sign to that effect?
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I don't think the OP needs to send the decisions at this stage as this is an initial challenge that only assumes the clock is the issue but Hackney will see the OP has done their homework.
The Watson decision does say:
The council may impose further requirements in a TRO as it has done in this case. The
TRO states that a badge must be displayed in the prescribed manner and that a parking
disc with the time set to the time of arrival must also be displayed.
But the adjudicator defaulted to the 'prescribed manner' despite the clock in the TRO, and in any case Hackney does not have the clock in its TRO anyway from what I found.
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OP, send the reps as suggested.
For others, IMO there remains a fundamental misunderstanding on this point and I am surprised that the quoted decisions do not make what I believe is the key link and point arising.
IMO, there is nothing in law which prevents a traffic authority from imposing a requirement to display a clock in a time-limited disabled bay, in fact the RTRA provides this power*. Where authorities go wrong is that in the wording of their orders they don't impose such a restriction explicitly but instead rely upon the wording and meaning(in their minds) of '.....BB displayed in the relevant position..Disabled Persons badges regs..'. But, as adjudicators have made clear, there is no such requirement in these words(regs)to display a 'clock' and therefore absent any other specific reference in an order a clock is not required.
The BB booklet gives advice that it would be prudent for BB holders to display a clock because when parking the driver does not know how the relevant traffic order is worded. The probability is that it simply refers to the regs and therefore doesn't carry any requirement, but surely(??) authorities will catch on. In fact, given the adjudication decisions on this point IMO it is gross negligence for authorities to continue to issue PCNs on this basis when they should know that their orders do not support any claim to a penalty.
*- if this wasn't the case then the BB booklet is wrong.
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They won't read the appeal decisions unless you include them in your representations.
So add to your penultimate sentence In the similar appeal cases of .... something like Please see the attached appeal notices, decision1.pdf & decision2.pdf.
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Brilliant, will do. Thanks!
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You may as well send the second one.
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Thank you both for your feedback and tips, I've incorporated your suggestions. Which of these drafts should I send?
Dear London Borough of Hackney,
I have parked on a disabled bay and I have displayed my valid Blue Badge which is clearly displayed from the windscreen as shown in the CEO's photographs.
I forgot to make an informal challenge questioning the PCN but I'm assuming it was because I did not display the parking clock.
I did not display my parking clock as I was in a rush to attend an appointment. However, according to the Disabled Person’s (Badges for Motor Vehicles) (England) Regulations 2000, this is not a requirement when parking in a disabled bay.
Regulations 11 and 12 of the Disabled Person’s (Badges for Motor Vehicles) (England) Regulations 2000 sets out the requirements for the display of a Blue Badge. There is no reference in the Regulations to a parking clock or disc.
The only reference to a disc or clock is in the Local Authorities Traffic Orders (Exemptions for Disabled Persons) (England) Regulations 2000 where it must be displayed in circumstances where the display of the badge provides an exemption from a yellow line waiting restriction (see Regulation 8).
Therefore, no contravention has occurred and the PCN must be cancelled.
Regards,
OR
Dear London Borough of Hackney,
I have parked on a disabled bay and I have displayed my valid Blue Badge which is clearly displayed from the windscreen as shown in the CEO's photographs.
I forgot to make an informal challenge questioning the PCN but I'm assuming it was because I did not display the parking clock.
I did not display my parking clock as I was in a rush to attend an appointment. However, according to the Disabled Person’s (Badges for Motor Vehicles) (England) Regulations 2000, this is not a requirement when parking in a disabled bay.
Regulations 11 and 12 of the Disabled Person’s (Badges for Motor Vehicles) (England) Regulations 2000 sets out the requirements for the display of a Blue Badge. There is no reference in the Regulations to a parking clock or disc.
The only reference to a disc or clock is in the Local Authorities Traffic Orders (Exemptions for Disabled Persons) (England) Regulations 2000 where it must be displayed in circumstances where the display of the badge provides an exemption from a yellow line waiting restriction (see Regulation 8).
In the similar appeal cases of ‘Miss Michelle Dhillon - v - Leicester City Council’ (2019) and ‘Mr William Watson - v - St Helens Council’ (2020), the adjudicator used these grounds to rule the alleged parking contravention did not occur.
Therefore, no contravention has occurred in this instance either and the PCN must be cancelled.
Regards,
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We don't know for sure why you got the PCN, which you would have found out if you'd sent the simple initial challenge.
I think it's almost certain it's the clock though but I'd add as a second paragraph:
I forgot to make an informal challenge questioning the PCN but I'm assuming it was because I did not display the parking clock.
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Don't include links to the cases you are using to support your representation/challenge. They won't use them. Instead save or print the case documents to PDF files and upload them onto the Council's challenge system. There'll be an option to do that somewhere on the challenge portal. Reference the documents in the text of your representation/challenge, if you want them to read them.
You can also upload your representation/challenge as a PDF file to maintain any formatting. Just put in the appeal details box something like "Please see uploaded file nnnnnn.pdf".
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The details on my V5C all look correct and I've also now received the Notice to Owner in the post: https://imgur.com/a/hzVJ5nY
How is this for a draft representation letter?
Dear London Borough of Hackney,
I have parked on a disabled bay and I have displayed my valid Blue Badge which is clearly displayed from the windscreen as shown in CEO's photographs.
I did not display my parking clock as I was in a rush to attend an appointment. However, according to the Disabled Person’s (Badges for Motor Vehicles) (England) Regulations 2000, this is not a requirement when parking in a disabled bay.
Regulations 11 and 12 of the Disabled Person’s (Badges for Motor Vehicles) (England) Regulations 2000 sets out the requirements for the display of a Blue Badge. There is no reference in the Regulations to a parking clock or disc.
The only reference to a disc or clock is in the Local Authorities Traffic Orders (Exemptions for Disabled Persons) (England) Regulations 2000 where it must be displayed in circumstances where the display of the badge provides an exemption from a yellow line waiting restriction (see Regulation 8 ).
Therefore, no contravention has occured and the PCN must be cancelled.
Regards,
Case References:
Miss Michelle Dhillon - v - Leicester City Council
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SWPQvyFnxTCIkzz4XHjTBhchA8i-hvKm/view
Mr William Watson - v - St Helens Council
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j3F5-usOqEk4ZeV4WH8vLjOsB6JaMN5G/view
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Hackney's order:
https://store.traffweb.app/hackney/documents/parkmap/sched/2018-414,%20415.pdf
I can't see it differs from the Leicester case.
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Ah, ADHD got in the way of me chasing this up sooner! Thanks for the cases.
It's a Motability car so it's dual registered to both me and the Motability fleet code. Motability holds the V5C and I've requested a copy which I'll receive in 3 days, but the details should be correct.
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You should have challenged but now you should wait for the NTO. Are you the registered keeper and if so are the name and address on the V5C logbook correct?
The cases below are key. It's possible Hackney has written a requirement into its traffic order for the clock but probably not but even if so the second one says they should still lose.
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Miss Michelle Dhillon - v - Leicester City Council
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SWPQvyFnxTCIkzz4XHjTBhchA8i-hvKm/view
Mr William Watson - v - St Helens Council
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j3F5-usOqEk4ZeV4WH8vLjOsB6JaMN5G/view
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Just to add; according to Hackney Council's PCN Portal, it's now at the Notice to Owner stage with the fine due to increase to £195.00 on Sun, 12 Jan 2025. I have not yet received the NTO though.
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Hey,
Just wondering if anyone has found the relevant cases yet, or should I just send in Daim456's suggested letter of representation without them?
Thanks for your time!
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We've had a number of battles with councils on using the clock in a time-limited bay. Point is bays for general parking don't require a clock.
This is a 3 hour bay - when did you park and leave? PCN time is 16:30.
So don't pay - one of us will dig out cases on this.
Thank you both, seems like it's pretty disgraceful targeting of 'easy targets' from councils. >:( It's great to hear I have a chance at appeal though!
I arrived 14:55 and left about 16:40/16:45, well within the 3 hour time restriction.
The cases would be helpful, so I'll wait for those before drafting up my representation.
Thanks again. :)
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We've had a number of battles with councils on using the clock in a time-limited bay. Point is bays for general parking don't require a clock.
This is a 3 hour bay - when did you park and leave? PCN time is 16:30.
So don't pay - one of us will dig out cases on this.
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The clock is only required for yellow lines.
You could send in the informal representation.
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Dear London Borough of Hackney,
I have parked on a disabled bay and I have displayed my valid Blue Badge which is clearly displayed from the windscreen as shown in CEO's photographs.
No contravention have occured and the PCN must be cancelled.
Regards
XXXX
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Hey all,
On 4th November, outside Hackney Service Centre on Hillman Street, I received a PCN for parking in a disabled bay without displaying a disabled person’s badge in the prescribed manner.
I did display the blue badge but not the clock.
I go for an appointment there every 1-2 weeks but I don’t remember noticing the time restriction or displaying my clock before. I've probably just been lucky not to get fined until now as I’ve checked on Google Maps Street View and the time restrictions are clearly displayed.
I suspect I’ll have to pay; however, I thought I’d better check here first! Can anyone see a way to challenge this before I make the payment?
I have just noticed the PCN hasn't been signed by the Civil Enforcement Officer, if that helps..?
PCN and council photos: https://imgur.com/a/OTcvX3d
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/KMvtsw1CbVPs3f3o8
Many thanks for your time and advice.