Brent Green NW4 - a classic error

can also have a picture of a bus on it, and an arrow

Brent Green is a road that is off Brent St. It is inside a CPZ which operates from 11am to noon. Mr T parked his car there on 9 May 2011 and came back to his car to find a ticket on it. He had seen a sign of the above kind (I don't have time to go to Brent St to take a photograph so if you live locally please send one to me) and thought it was a plate showing the times when he couldn't park on a single yellow line.

The case went to PATAS and they gave a long and detailed reasoning as to why the parking ticket was to be cancelled which you can find by going to the PATAS site and entering the reference number 2120013199 in the search box.

Basically the sign says the times that lorries and buses cannot park overnight and many motorists confuse the signs for the times that apply to the yellow line that the sign is adjacent to. It is an easy mistake to make so there are rules that suggest that an extra sign to deal with the yellow line is also in place. It was not in place on 9 May 2011 and so unless it is now in place the council (via their agent NSL) should not issue any more tickets in Brent Green NW4.

If the signs have not been made clearer and you made the same mistake as Mr T then you should ask for your money back from the council and quote the decision in this case in support of your argument.

The same will apply to any other location where there is a prohibition on lorry and/or bus overnight parking on a yellow line so if you receive a ticket in the same circumstances then please appeal it and if you have paid one, ask for your money back.

Yours appealingly

Miss Feezance

PCN on a single yellow line - How to appeal - all zones

Remember that it costs nothing to send in an informal appeal i.e. a letter or an email ( email is better, especially with a delivery receipt and a read receipt added ) 

If you do it within the 14 days then you still get the 50% discount even if you lose your informal appeal ( and Miss Feezance does not think that you will ).

There are rules that the council has to follow. Many councils, including Barnet Council, seem to find this difficult even though there is guidance in the form of the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002. You can buy it at Amazon but you don't need to as you can browse it on the internet if necessary ( save yourself £40 )

So here are the rules for yellow lines within CPZ's. 

A council either has to put up signs like this one on lampposts ( or other posts ) at regular intervals ( every 60m ) 

Add caption

or because it is quicker and cheaper 2 signs ( one each side of the road ) like this one at every entry point to the Controlled Parking Zone. Outside of a CPZ there must be signs saying what the restricted hours are, placed at a maximum of 60m intervals.

It only needs a single one of these signs to be missing for you to have a valid appeal against your PCN ( Penalty Charge Notice ).

The times on the plate should reflect the hours of operation of your zone - they might be wrong? 

If they were wrong that would be grounds for appeal.

The signs should not be obscured by foliage as they often are in summer, remember you have to be able to read the sign at 30mph, or by being defaced in anyway that makes them unclear such as being covered in moss or graffiti.

There are also rules for the yellow lines. This is so that the motorist is not in any doubt about the rules and a yellow line in Bognor or Birmingham should look like one in Bristol or Barnet.

They should look like this.

Generally with the CPZ zones Barnet Council have opted for the 100mm width of line and a 5% variance is allowed, they have to be within 95 to 100mm wide. If there is a break in the line then it is invalid and you can appeal ( Miss Feezance thinks it unreasonable to count a break caused by a drain grating ) but if the road has been dug up and the line was not immediately repainted that is a good reason to appeal. There is no reason why a new section of tarmac cannot immediately have a new line painted - it's not the fault of the motorist if the council can't organise it.

Miss Feezance has noticed that a lot of yellow lines are not properly terminated i.e. the bar across the end of the line is missing or the wrong size.  These are good grounds for appeal.

Incidentally outside of the CPZ's you can also appeal if the single yellow line is the wrong size or broken.

How to appeal

Email as follows to parking@barnet.gov.uk

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Dear Sirs

PCN #:xxxxxxxxxx

I wish to appeal against the above numbered PCN as the lines and/or signs are not in accordance with the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002

Yours faithfully

Your name and address

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If you have any problems please let me know. I will help you.

Yours appealingly

Miss Feezance