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I had a similar PCN cancelled because there was no sign when I left the car, so I asked the council when they put the sign up, they recognised they hadn't provided the required notice, and cancelled the PCN. I had made a post on pepipoo, which is now down, so I can't retrieve the details. I don't remember what the minimum notice was.

You said this was in Wandsworth. A quick search shows the minimum required notice there is 72 hours https://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/parking/parking-bays/parking-bay-suspensions/how-we-suspend-parking-bays/

So, if they can prove they respected that, I fear there is nothing you can do.

I would maybe clarify the wording a bit, saying that:

the notice outside #3 mentions the suspension of the parking bay (singular) outside numbers 1 to 3
However, the bay outside #1 is a different bay to that outside #3, as can be seen from the pictures which show they are separated by double yellow lines
Not only is suspending the bay outside #1 unnecessary for the installation of a skip, but, if you had wanted to suspend both bays, you would have had to i) install signs outside both bays and ii) specify that two separate bays were suspended. Instead, the picture shows that the pole next to your parked car outside #1 has no sign at all. No sign --> no valid suspension

Lastly, you might want to edit the photos with some arrows and text to make it even clearer

OP, it's not clear to me where exactly you parked. You posted an apple maps link to a street (Garratt lane) which doesn't seem to have any parking?

As a starting point:

understand where exactly you parked
check on the council website what area it corresponds to
check if there was a sign where the council said there should have been https://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/parking/parking-zones/afc-wimbledon-stadium-event-day-restrictions/

For example, the council website states that the signs for G1 are located at:

G1 St. Martin’s Way/Maskell Road
G1 Garratt Lane/Summerstown
G1 Wimbledon Road/Blackshaw Road

If there was no sign, you can challenge the PCN on that basis. But you need proof. You can say that, according to the council website, you were expecting a sign at location X, no such sign was there, so the only logical conclusion was it was NOT an event day.

Be sure to take a screenshot or a video of the council website with some kind of timestamp, in case those esteemed gentlemen change it later!

Another one bites the dust! I won!!




However, disappointingly:



* the adjudicator did not opine on how appropriate or not it was to place signs with multiple lines of text in a location, outside the train station, where it is impossible to read it safely unless the driver comes to a complete stop for a few seconds

* the adjudicator also said that, if the wrong dates on the website had been in the past rather than in the future, it would have been more acceptable. But surely it is the council's responsibility to ensure their website reports the correct dates all the time??





The adjudicator directs London Borough of Wandsworth to cancel the Penalty Charge Notice.

Adjudicator's Reasons
The agreed facts are that the vehicle was at the stated location and a Penalty Charge Notice was
issued on Saturday 16/09/2023 at 15:22. Restrictions apply from 1:00-8:30 pm on Saturdays if this is
an "event day". The Appellant says the signs nearby did not state this day was an "event day".
A single yellow lines means restrictions apply at some time, and the hours are either set out on
timeplates within the road or, in the case of a CPZ, on all entry points to the zone.
The sign relied on by the Authority is a CPZ sign that says that the next event day is 5.9.16.30
September. The Appellant wrote to the Authority stating that different event days appeared on their
website and has provided a photoshot of one taken on 23/09/2023 that gives the next event day as 12
and 13 October 2023. The Authority says the sign on the website is an example of the type of sign
displayed and so the dates thereon are not relevant.
I do not accept that it is reasonable for driver, who checks the Authority's website, to conclude that the
date stated as 12 and 13 October 2023 is an example only. If checked on 23/09/2023, one would not
expect to see October 2023 dates. Had the dates been in the past, then that is more acceptable.
Thus even if the CPZ sign is correct, the information on the website is misleading to drivers so the
appeal is allowed.

I have just received a notice of rejection.

I want to appeal to the adjudicator.

I plan on repeating mostly the same points mentioned until now.

The council says the sign on its website, with the wrong dates, is just an example and the dates there are irrelevant. Why not mention it, then?
Why not put the dates on their website??

The website wasn't letting me post the link (it always times out); I am hoping that posting this manually should work


https://i.postimg.cc/7Y8pWLcx/Council-reply-2023-10-21-pdf-Adobe-Acrobat-Reader-64-bit.jpg

I do not want people to agree with me. Someone who agrees with me but cannot help me challenge the PCN may be comforting but ultimately not much use.
I would, ideally, want people to provide the best information on whether / how to challenge this PCN.

But @ H C Andersen has not been doing that.

He thinks the inconsistencies between signs and website is irrelevant. Fine. But he hasn't explained why, he hasn't provided, I don't know, precedents, previous cases where the adjudicator ruled this way. He hasn't provided any context.

He thinks that kind of sign with 12 lines of text is standard. But, again, he hasn't provided any context, any precedents, anything. Oh, and they're not as standard as he thinks, since I showed a case in which an adjudicator rules that motorists cannot be expected to know where the sign with event days are.

He clearly has poor text comprehension skills, and/or replies without reading everything.

He seemed to think my main argument was the difference between match and event days. Come on...

He thought I was saying I was allowed to park for an hour (I never said that, I just said the website says you can park for no more than 1h during event days).

When I specifically asked how one could possibly be expected to read a sign with 12 lines, and pointed out it would have meant driving for ca. 50 metres at 10mph, all he said was that these signs are common. IMHO, someone who refuses to acknowledge the danger from driving 50 metres with your eyes off the road is either a troll in bad faith or is a genuinely careless and dangerous driver.

And the took offence because I dared say that Wimbledon stadium was a little known venue (a slur, he called it!!!) - as if everyone had to be a football fan, as if folks (of all genders, not all men are football fans) weren't allowed not to follow football.

All of the above is, to me, the behaviour of someone who is needlessly confrontational, aggressive and abrasive.
If he is knowledgeable in the field, well, he most certainly hasn't shown it.
But, even if he is, that would not justify the aggressive style.

I don't think this forum has a mute / block feature, but from now on I shall ignore this type of comments unless they are backed by some information / evidence.