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#Post#: 12207--------------------------------------------------
PCN for parking outside of marked bay in Chester
DIR By: Nubley
Date: December 11, 2023, 11:45 am
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My wife parked outside one of the marked bays at the Watergate
Street council car park in Chester on a busy afternoon last
weekend and received a £50 penalty charge notice (£25 if paid
within 14 days).
All the bays were full so (probably naively) she parked in a
spot where she judged that her car wouldn't create an
obstruction (see light blue Honda in photos). There is a flat £5
parking fee and she assumed once she had entered the car park
she wouldn't have been able to leave without paying.
Cheshire West and Chester Council have rejected her informal
appeal and claim there must have been a space available because
otherwise the counting technology would not have allowed her to
enter the car park.
The authority does concede that if someone has parked across two
bays, there might not be a visible space, but doesn't accept
that as just grounds for appeal. In which case, what was my wife
to do? Did they expect her to just sit there until another car
departed? This would have made her late for an engagement, which
hardly seems fair, particularly as she paid the £5 fee and did
her best to park responsibly.
The council points out that there is a warning on the sign at
the car park entrance to the effect that failure to park within
the marked bays will result in a penalty charge. It's in the
small print at the bottom of the sign though and you wouldn't be
able to read it unless you stopped your car and got out before
going through the barrier; or walked back to the entrance after
parking just in order to read the sign.
We are therefore wondering whether we would stand a sufficient
chance of having the charge overturned to make it worth our
while proceeding to formal appeal and then quite possibly to
independent adjudication, bearing in mind it might well cost us
another £25.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
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#Post#: 12214--------------------------------------------------
Re: PCN for parking outside of marked bay in Chester
DIR By: lexy
Date: December 11, 2023, 2:29 pm
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Oh dear. Not much chance with that one. She really did invent
her own space, didn’t she?
For what it’s worth, barriers will let you back out within 5-10
minutes without paying, even in expensive private car parks like
NCP or Q-Park. I’ve done it many times before.
As far as the law goes, councils need to put a terms and
conditions board in a fairly obvious place, usually next to the
entrance or payment machines. Looks like they’ve done that, and
you’ve said it mentions parking correctly in a marked space.
Unless you can find a technicality, this is probably one to pay
before it doubles. Forget about adjudicators - they only decide
whether the contravention occurred or not. They can’t take any
mitigating circumstances into account and can’t let you off. As
far as they’re concerned, if you broke a rule, you broke a rule.
End of story.
At the end of the day, if a car park is full you’re supposed to
leave and go somewhere else. The barriers will let you back out
if you leave within 5-10 minutes. They have to - in case you
can’t find a space or don’t agree with the rates.
A council or an adjudicator won’t accept “parking correctly
would have made me late” as a valid argument. Looks like she
chanced it and got caught. I’ve done it before - it’s a risk you
take. This time it didn’t work out.
#Post#: 12217--------------------------------------------------
Re: PCN for parking outside of marked bay in Chester
DIR By: H C Andersen
Date: December 11, 2023, 3:00 pm
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It's in the small print at the bottom of the sign though and you
wouldn't be able to read it unless you stopped your car and got
out before going through the barrier; or walked back to the
entrance after parking just in order to read the sign.
Which is exactly what you're required to do.
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