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Civil penalty charge notices (Councils, TFL and so on) / Re: Barnet 53J Essex Park - Are the stickers on the sign legal?
« on: June 21, 2025, 05:38:03 pm »
Victory! I’m updating this thread as it may help others. Tribunal was booked for 1st July, I’ve now been informed that Barnet Council will not contest my appeal and the PCN is cancelled, although we can’t be sure of the reason for this – perhaps it was deemed ‘de minimis’, but if the stickers/appearance of the sign negated the ‘offence’ – perhaps other drivers at this location can appeal on the same grounds?
This is the appeal I submitted to London Tribunals:
I am appealing this PCN due to doubts around the accuracy of the time that the alleged contravention occurred. The Notice of Rejection was a generic dismissive document which did not address points I raised in the initial appeal, or provide a verification code for ease of this appeal. Furthermore, the roadsigns at this junction do not adhere to Department for Transport guidelines.
The images provided by Barnet Council suggest that the alleged contravention occurred between 09:14:44 - 09:14:47, which is at most 16 seconds before the morning restriction period ends. I only entered Essex Park N3 because both the clock in my car and on my mobile phone showed that it was after 9:15am. (NB: The time on my phone was visible throughout the journey as I was using the phone for sat nav. It was attached to a holder protruding from the vent on the upper dashboard). The recommencement of vehicles using this junction also reassured me that it was after 09:15:00.
Similar cases, such as Mr Byanouni v Barnet in 2018, Ref: 218015398A were considered de minimis in law, despite the alleged contravention occurring 42 seconds before restrictions ended. Why should a similar 'grace period' not be extended to me in this instance?
My suggestion to Barnet Council to add a clock or light to the roadsigns to make it implicitly clear when the zone is in operation was not addressed - despite their concern to make this road safer.
Finally and most importantly, the NOR states, “the signs at this location wholly conform to the requirements of the ‘Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 (TSRGD)” but having accessed this document via www.gov.uk and the Department for Transport websites (link below), this is incorrect. Pages 16 and 144 specifically refer to the format and appearance of signs of this type, with point 12.5.1 on page 144 stating, "Each line is centred horizontally and the vertical gap between each element is shown in Figure 12 4 which also shows how to combine time periods." At this location Essex Park N3, the morning restriction time has been amended with a sticker which is not flush or centered. In addition, point 12.2.2 of the same document states that, "A time period is shown as a start and end time separated by a hyphen." but again at this location, the hyphen is not visible and does not conform.
Link to Dept of Transport Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 (TSRGD)
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c78f8c7e5274a0ebfec719c/traffic-signs-manual-chapter-07.pdf
This is the appeal I submitted to London Tribunals:
I am appealing this PCN due to doubts around the accuracy of the time that the alleged contravention occurred. The Notice of Rejection was a generic dismissive document which did not address points I raised in the initial appeal, or provide a verification code for ease of this appeal. Furthermore, the roadsigns at this junction do not adhere to Department for Transport guidelines.
The images provided by Barnet Council suggest that the alleged contravention occurred between 09:14:44 - 09:14:47, which is at most 16 seconds before the morning restriction period ends. I only entered Essex Park N3 because both the clock in my car and on my mobile phone showed that it was after 9:15am. (NB: The time on my phone was visible throughout the journey as I was using the phone for sat nav. It was attached to a holder protruding from the vent on the upper dashboard). The recommencement of vehicles using this junction also reassured me that it was after 09:15:00.
Similar cases, such as Mr Byanouni v Barnet in 2018, Ref: 218015398A were considered de minimis in law, despite the alleged contravention occurring 42 seconds before restrictions ended. Why should a similar 'grace period' not be extended to me in this instance?
My suggestion to Barnet Council to add a clock or light to the roadsigns to make it implicitly clear when the zone is in operation was not addressed - despite their concern to make this road safer.
Finally and most importantly, the NOR states, “the signs at this location wholly conform to the requirements of the ‘Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 (TSRGD)” but having accessed this document via www.gov.uk and the Department for Transport websites (link below), this is incorrect. Pages 16 and 144 specifically refer to the format and appearance of signs of this type, with point 12.5.1 on page 144 stating, "Each line is centred horizontally and the vertical gap between each element is shown in Figure 12 4 which also shows how to combine time periods." At this location Essex Park N3, the morning restriction time has been amended with a sticker which is not flush or centered. In addition, point 12.2.2 of the same document states that, "A time period is shown as a start and end time separated by a hyphen." but again at this location, the hyphen is not visible and does not conform.
Link to Dept of Transport Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 (TSRGD)
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c78f8c7e5274a0ebfec719c/traffic-signs-manual-chapter-07.pdf