Free Traffic Legal Advice

Dear London Borough of Brent,

Your informal rejection states that:

There may not be yellow lines and/or marked bays on the road/street in certain areas within
the event day zone (usually Environmental and/or Conservation Areas) to indicate that it is a
restricted street – sign plates would indicate where permit holders only can park within the
zone. The signage requirements within the event day zone have been authorised by The
Secretary of State for Transport.

Be that as it may, there are only two types of zone that do not require signs and marked bays,
these are Restricted Parking Zones and Permit Parking Areas, the zone in question is neither.
When entering an RPZ or a PPA a motorist is put on notice by the zone boundary sign that
the restrictions will not necessarily be signposted on the streets within the zone, and that
alerts the driver to look for signs even if there are none in the vicinity of his chosen parking
location and the road appears otherwise unrestricted.

However even with a PPA or an RPZ, a marked parking bay would be accompanied by an
upright sign to inform road users of the terms of use of the bay, given that the bay signifies a
departure from the requirement for a permit (for a PPA) or the prohibition on waiting and/or
loading (for an RPZ), such that if one were to find a marked bay within either an RPZ or a
PPA without an upright sign the signage would not necessarily be adequate in any event.

The zone you have created is not a PPA or an RPZ and whatever the status of authorisation of
the signage might be, the council is subject to an overriding duty under regulation 18(1)
of The Local Authorities' Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996,
which for brevity I will call the LATOR 18 duty.

The LATOR 18 duty requires the provision of signage which, when looked at as a whole,
provides adequate information as to the effect of the traffic management order, such that
persons using the road are adequately informed of the effects of the traffic management order
without recourse to other sources such as performing an online search.

The LATOR 18 duty also includes the following at paragraph c:

in a case where the order revokes, amends or alters the application of a previous order, the
removal or replacement of existing traffic signs as the authority considers requisite to avoid
confusion to road users by signs being left in the wrong positions.

In this instance the council has left a marked bay with no upright sign, this misleadingly
creates confusion for persons using the road because in all circumstances (including RPZs,
PPAs and red route) a white bay with no sign would indicate that parking is permitted
without any restrictions. It follows that the white bay markings, in the absence of a regulatory
sign, are liable to cause confusion to road users. It is also well known that a parking bay is
only subject to the restrictions indicated on the sign for the bay, and motorists are often
warned not to rely on signs away from the bay because they cannot rely on such signs to
determine the restrictions within a bay.

My vehicle was parked in the long marked parking place outside 126 to 104 Windermere
Avenue. There is no traffic plate within that parking place and none mounted on lamp
columns 26 or 27 that sit within the bay.

While LATOR 18 imposes a duty on local authorities, in Nottingham City Council, R (on the
application of) v Bus Lane Adjudicator & Ors [2017] EWHC 430 (Admin) the High Court
confirmed that:

It is well-established that a failure to comply with the regulation 18 duty as to signage is a
proper ground on which an adjudicator may allow an appeal against the issue of a penalty
charge notice on the ground that the alleged contravention of the relevant traffic regulation
order did not occur. (See R (London Borough of Camden) v. The Parking Adjudicator [2011]
EWHC 295 (Admin), per Burnett J. at [50] – [51]).

In light of the failure to discharge the obligations under regulation 18 of LATOR the alleged
contravention did not occur, and the penalty charge must be cancelled.
Yours faithfully,
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Link to council response

I'm a bit confused because it says that I will receive other info in a Notice of Rejection letter, but surely this is the notice of rejection?

OK just wondering as its very similar to my case

Dated the 28th Oct. Arrived yday

So Brent got back to me about the sign authorisation saying the below:

Wembley Stadium is a public transport venue. The scheme’s restrictions are enforced to ensure that the area remains congestion free, and that minimum
disruption is caused to the local community by visitors to the stadium. Anyone parking illegally in the event day zone is liable to receive a Penalty Charge Notice
and may have their vehicle removed.

Event day restrictions operate between 8am and midnight on main roads to the stadium, and generally between 10am and midnight elsewhere outside Controlled
Parking Zones (i.e. streets which do not have parking controls on non-event days).

In Controlled Parking Zones within the scheme area, the restrictions are 10am to midnight, and zone T (Brentfield Road) which operates at all times.

Also in Controlled Parking Zones within the scheme area, existing residents’, business and other permits remain valid. In streets outside the CPZs, the Council
offers a range of event day permits as follows:

 Event day resident permit
 Event day visitor permit
 Event day business permit
 Event day school permit
 Event day place of worship permit

Originally, Event Day Permits were paper-based and not vehicle-specific.. Residents are required to ensure that the permit is clearly displayed in the vehicle
windscreen on event days to avoid being issued with a Penalty Charge Notice.

Since June 2019, all Event Day Permits are issued as vehicle-specific, valid for three years, and a flat rate charge is made to contribute to the administrative cost of
issuing the permit. These are also now issued as virtual permits, and the registration number of the registered vehicle is automatically recognised when
checked by a Civil Enforcement Officer.

Applicants for an event day resident permit will have their residential status checked in the same way as other applicants for a resident permit. The maximum
number of event day permits that can be purchased per eligible household is three. Residents of private roads in the scheme area are also entitled to permits to allow
them to park in enforceable parts of the event day zone during an event.

Eligible households can also obtain event day visitor permits subject to a maximum of two per household. Residents of private roads in the scheme area are
not entitled to visitor permits

The authorisation for the signage requirements is indeed authorised by the Secretary of State for Transport, under section 64 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.

Traffic Signs Manual - Chapter 1 Introduction

Does this new information help my case?

Ok, I’ll have a think. Is there any evidence for how commonly Brent will reoffer?

Does the first case posted not imply they would take the same view with my situation? There’s a sign far away but I’m meant to know I’m still within the zone. I’ve requested the requirements of the event day zone signage from the DfT but I’m not sure if they will respond within the 14 day window

So I can wait 28 (now 26) days and send another response to them?

Here’s the PDF without my name and personal details