Free Traffic Legal Advice
Live cases legal advice => Civil penalty charge notices (Councils, TFL and so on) => Topic started by: DanielleK121 on May 12, 2025, 04:35:15 pm
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Thank you. Thinking of sending the following appeal. Please let me know what you think.
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to formally appeal against the issuance of the two Penalty Charge Notices referenced above, both of which were issued within one minute of each other on the same stretch of Tottenham Court Road. These notices relate to a single, continuous driving movement, and I respectfully ask that you consider the following mitigating circumstances.
My primary ground for appeal is that the restriction signage is placed too late to provide adequate advance warning to motorists. Approaching Tottenham Court Road from the relevant direction, there is no clear indication prior to the junction that a restriction is in effect. By the time the sign becomes visible — placed after the junction and adjacent to a pedestrian crossing — the driver has already committed to the turn and entered the restricted zone. In my case, this is exactly what occurred: the vehicle had passed the point of no return when the signage became visible, and the PCNs were issued almost immediately.
This concern has already been upheld in a recent case: Case Reference 2240583109, decided by Adjudicator Sean Stanton-Dunne on 25 March 2025. In that decision, the adjudicator ruled that the signage was inadequate and stated:
"In my judgement, the motorist travelling along Tottenham Court Road will not see the restricted route sign until it is too late to safely avoid using the route... I am allowing the appeal because I agree with Mr Khan that the signage is not adequate for the restricted route."
He also noted that although a blue directional arrow is visible at the lights, it is misleading, as it does not relate directly to the restricted route enforcement.
Additionally, I wish to highlight that both PCNs were issued for a single, continuous act — not two separate violations. Issuing two separate penalties for what was effectively one incident seems excessive and unfair. I respectfully request that, if both PCNs cannot be cancelled, then at the very least one be withdrawn in the interest of fairness and proportionality.
This was not a case of deliberate contravention but an unavoidable and honest mistake, exacerbated by unclear and poorly placed signage. I hope Camden Council will take these factors — including the precedent set in the aforementioned case — into account when reviewing my appeal.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
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Here are the two videos in sequence as a start. I'm thinking that if there is nothing to go on with the first, to pay that and ask for cancellation on the second, backed up by the winning appeal case on signage.
(https://i.ibb.co/tM2tsPz0/chenies-ezgif-com-video-to-gif-converter-1.gif)
(https://i.ibb.co/XkJK4xTV/howland-ezgif-com-video-to-gif-converter.gif)
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Thank you so much
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I'll look at this later when I have more time.
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Hi - Thank you for your help. Much appreciated.
VRN EY69GUO
PCN No: CU70790125 – Tottenham Court Road / Chenies Street
PCN No: CU70772382 – Tottenham Court Road / Howland Street
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One approach is to pay the first one and ask for discertion on the second. However we can look at these more closely - one of the locations had a tribunal win.
What is the car VRM and both PCN numbers.
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Case reference 2240583109
Appellant Adil Khan
Authority London Borough of Camden
VRM VK14LGE
PCN Details
PCN CU68934029
Contravention date 30 Oct 2024
Contravention time 16:19:00
Contravention location Tottenham Court Road By Junction With Howland Street
Penalty amount GBP 130.00
Contravention Using a route restricted to certain vehicles
Referral date -
Decision Date 25 Mar 2025
Adjudicator Sean Stanton-Dunne
Appeal decision Appeal allowed
Direction cancel the Penalty Charge Notice and the Notice to Owner.
Reasons This PCN was issued for the alleged contravention of using a route restricted to buses and cycles in Tottenham Court Road.
I am allowing the appeal because I agree with Mr Khan that the signage is not adequate for the restricted route.
I have looked at the CCTV footage and the still images from the Council. These show a single restricted route sign in Tottenham Court Road. The sign is attached to a post on the left hand side of the road. It is placed after the junction and next to a pedestrian crossing area.
In my judgement, the motorist travelling along Tottenham Court Road will not see the restricted route sign until it is too late to safely avoid using the route. The motorist will, of course, see the blue sign at the traffic lights with the directional arrow directing traffic to turn to the left but the PCN was not issued for the alleged contravention of failing to drive in the direction shown by the arrow on a blue sign. The blue sign directional arrow is also misleading as the restricted route beyond the lights can be used outside of controlled hours.
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Hi everyone,
Looking for some advice or shared experiences please.
I’ve just received two PCNs from Camden Council for "using a route restricted to certain vehicles local buses and cycles only" on Tottenham Court Road on May 5th Bank Holiday!! One is for the junction with Chenies Street, and the other is for the junction with Howland Street – issued just one minute apart. I thought same rules as a Sunday apply but apparently not.
It looks like this was all part of the same journey, so I’m wondering if this might count as a single contravention rather than two separate ones? Has anyone successfully appealed 1 or both in a similar situation? The signs are super confusing.
Link to paperwork: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/625irxk1gzbn1o6vg5fkm/AKp0Wl0VDliwfpZy_KLXyMc?rlkey=ayny49g6xmrdpzde9qyuelf09&dl=0
Any advice / help would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks