Free Traffic Legal Advice

Good Morning,

Quicker response than I expected from the CEO, please see below:

Thank you for your email in relation to the PCN notice you have been issued with.

I can confirm that the information provided by PALs is correct, and the car park on Dragon Lane is operated by a private contractor who has no commercial or financial relationship with the Trust, and therefore we are unable to help in relation to the parking charge notice (PCN0) that was issued by Car Park Securities LTD.

There are two car parks on Dragon Lane both accessed via the same entrance.  The first is a staff car park for MWL staff, which is managed on our behalf by Medirest as part of the PFI.  This is leased land and not owned by the Trust, nor is it part of the trust campus.  The second area at the top of the car park nearest to Warrington Road has been sold by the landowner to a private contractor,  who has developed the land as a pay and display car park.  As stated, there is no relationship between the provider of this car park and the Trust.  I understand that advertising this as a Whiston Hospital car park may be misleading, but there is clear signage in the car park itself setting out the terms of use.

The Trust website also clearly states that this car park is not managed by the Trust  - Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust STHK | Whiston Hospital

Car parking at Whiston Hospital for Patients and Visitors​

Please note: The new car park constructed on Dragon Lane (the old Dragon pub site, adjacent to a Trust staff car park) is not managed by the Trust. This area and the yellow hatched lines leading up to the car park are owned by a private company.

If you park in this area and do not pay the fee specified, this may result in a fixed penalty being issued by this private company. The Trust has no influence over any fines or charges associated with this car park.

Trust car parking is available for patients and visitors in the Multi Storey Car Park off Warrington Road, by the Accident and Emergency Department off Dragon Lane and by the paediatric entrance off Stoney Lane. There is also a dedicated disabled car park at the front of the hospital main entrance and also disabled spaces available within the multi storey, Accident and Emergency and paediatric car parks.

For your information, the Trust (and its partners) do not currently use PCNs to manage car parking on the Whiston Hospital site.

I am very sorry I am unable to assist you further but hope this response has answered your concerns about the situation.

Yours sincerely

Rob

Rob Cooper

Chief Executive

Would anyone please be able to advise if there are any next steps I could take to challenge?

Good Evening,

The registered owner of the vehicle used the carkpark at the Peel Centre in Stockport on 27/06/25.
This car park became pay on exit recently, however customers of certain shops can get up to 2 hours parking for free.
The driver has shopped at M&S, entered their registration upon the terminal inside M&S but failed to then re-enter it at a parking machine in the main car park.
Unforturnately, the driver has already made an appeal to the parking company which was unsuccessful and I attended the store today to speak to the duty manager but they were uninterested in helping.

The car park is quite famous locally for being awkward and I feel the system is convuluted on purpose. You can get access to images taken on the car park camera inside the store, the terminal clearly links to Ocean Parking systems yet they want you to enter it again.
Would anyone kindly be able to review the PCN & appeal letter and advise if there's anything we can do to contest?

Car Park signage:


Signage inside M&S:


Screen inside M&S after entering your registration:


Original PCN:



Failed Appeal Letter:
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Good Afternoon,

I have recieved the following back from PALS at the hospital after asking them to cancel the ticket:
"This car park is not managed by our Trust, nor do any of our car park attendants carry out any patrols of the parking area or view the machines.  We have asked for legal advice regarding this car park to see if they can remove the very misleading signage but have been told there is nothing legally, we can do because they have not used the NHS logo. 
We have asked for information regarding this to go on our website, so people are made aware that this is not a Trust car park and this is in the process of being added.
I can only apologise that there is nothing more we as a trust can do regarding this issue."

I have checked Google Maps to see if I can find pics of the car park but they are 3x years old and not up to date, the actual car park backs onto an area used for staff parking that's permit holders only so I can't provide pics of the signage without travelling for an hour each way.

Given this, is there anything I can do to fight the ticket based on available information?

Thank you in advance.

Original post:

Good Morning,

I, the registered keeper & vehicle owner, recieved the below PCN from a private company for a driver overstaying in a car park.

A payment for 2 hours was made via the RingGo app.
The driver overstayed by 12m & 19s, they were visiting a sick relative and didn't realise how long the journey back to the car park would take them.

Hoping someone is able to offer some advice on how to (successfully) appeal.
Thank you in advance.