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I. Delivery/unloading is not “parking”
The operator has failed to rebut the core issue: the vehicle was engaged in parcel deliveries to residents, a brief unloading activity, not parking.
In Jopson v Homeguard Services Ltd [2016] B9GF0A9E, HHJ Harris QC held that:
“Parking” is not the same as “stopping”; temporary stopping for the purpose of delivery or loading/unloading is not parking.
The operator’s evidence shows only ANPR entry and exit times (17:18 to 17:42) — but ANPR cannot show any period of stationary parking. The vehicle was moving between buildings for deliveries. There is no evidence of the vehicle being left unattended or parked. POPLA must apply Jopson and conclude that no contract to “park” was formed, and therefore no contravention occurred.
II. Signage – no allowance for deliveries or visitors
The operator’s own evidence shows signage referring only to “Residents Only”.
Nowhere does it state that delivery vehicles, tradespeople, or short-term visitors are permitted or given instructions for lawful unloading. This omission makes the signage ambiguous, unreasonable, and incapable of forming a fair contract.
This falls foul of Consumer Rights Act 2015, ss.62–68 (terms must be fair and transparent). A reasonable driver performing a legitimate delivery to residents could not have consented to a £100 penalty simply for briefly stopping.
Further, under Thornton v Shoe Lane Parking [1971] 2 QB 163, contractual terms must be brought to the driver’s attention before the contract is formed. No signage was visible or readable from a moving delivery van at the point of entry, especially when the driver’s purpose was to reach residents for a delivery.
Because the signage did not give any reasonable notice or mechanism for legitimate delivery stops, no fair contract was formed.
III. Private Parking Single Code of Practice (PPSCoP) – breach of fairness and grace requirements
The operator claims compliance with the Private Parking Sector Single Code of Practice, yet the evidence contradicts this.
Section 5.1 requires a consideration period to allow drivers to read signs and decide whether to stay.
Section 5.2 requires a minimum 10-minute grace period at the end of parking.
However, the operator issued a charge for a total stay of only 23 minutes, which includes arrival, parcel delivery to multiple flats, and departure. This was within a reasonable grace/unloading period and clearly consistent with legitimate short-stay activity.
Their claim of “0 hours 0 minutes allowed” shows a failure to provide any consideration or grace period, breaching PPSCoP and BPA standards of fairness.
IV. No keeper liability – operator admits PoFA not used
ParkingEye explicitly admits in their evidence pack:
“Please be advised, this Parking Charge was not issued under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.”
Accordingly, the keeper cannot be held liable. Only the driver could be pursued. As the appellant is the keeper and has not identified the driver, POPLA must allow the appeal on this ground alone.
V. No standing / defective landowner authority
The operator provides only a generic “Letter of Authority”, not a contemporaneous, signed, site-specific contract meeting PPSCoP §14.1(a–j).
The document is redacted and lacks:
The landowner’s identity and signature,
The precise boundaries of the site,
The terms of the operator’s authority to issue and enforce PCNs.
This fails the evidential standard required by POPLA and the PPSCoP, and the operator is therefore put to strict proof of their legal standing.
Without proper landowner authority, the operator has no locus standi to enforce charges or pursue them in their own name.
VI. Beavis is distinguishable
The operator relies on ParkingEye v Beavis [2015] UKSC 67, but that case concerned a retail car park with a legitimate interest in space turnover and a prominently signed 2-hour limit.
This case involves a residential estate where the driver was performing a short delivery to residents — not occupying a space for personal use or overstay.
There is no comparable “legitimate interest” in penalising essential service vehicles performing brief unloading tasks. The charge therefore operates as a penalty and is unenforceable on the facts.
VII. Summary
No period of parking has been evidenced – only ANPR entry/exit timestamps.
Jopson v Homeguard establishes that unloading is not parking.
Signage fails to communicate terms for deliveries and applies only to residents.
No keeper liability – the operator admits PoFA does not apply.
No evidence of landowner authority in compliance with PPSCoP.
No legitimate interest comparable to Beavis; the charge is punitive.
Failure to comply with PPSCoP grace and fairness provisions.
For all these reasons, the appeal must be upheld and the Parking Charge cancelled.