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#Post#: 123776--------------------------------------------------
Road signs information overload - PCN Hammersmith and Fulham
Council
DIR By: cookie23
Date: July 4, 2026, 7:00 pm
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Hi all,
My first post here. My apologies if I make any mistakes.
A bit of background: My wife's battling stage 4 stomach cancer.
In April she had major surgery at Hammersmith Hospital to have a
total gastrectomy. She also ended up having a splenectomy, 2/3
of her pancreas and dozens of lymph nodes removed. She ended up
staying in hospital a whole month instead of the planned 7-10
days.
In the meantime, the cancer has spread to her liver and we're
currently awaiting the start of palliative care/treatment.
Anyway, while she was an inpatient at Hammersmith Hospital, I
was visiting her every day. I quickly found that I was often
stuck in traffic for ~20 mins to cross the the A40 from the
south side to the north to get to the hospital and a similar
time on the way back.
I found that if I parked on Bryony Road and walked, I could save
those precious 30-40 mins being stuck in traffic everyday and
actually spend that additional time with my wife instead. I
probably parked on this road for nearly 3 weeks almost every
day.
More than 2 weeks after some of the days, I started to receive
PCN's for:
"alleged traffic contravention - 52M - failing to comply With a
prohibition on certain types of vehicle (m) motor vehicles"
"In (place) RMV Bryony Rd Westbnd nr Jct Bloemfontein Rd (va)"
It turns out, the council has effectively turned a public road
into a private residents only road and by merely driving in/out
of this road, I had allegedly committed the aforementioned
offence. Multiple times.
All in all, I've received 4 PCNs of £160 each (£640 total!) so
far (£80 each or £320 total if paid within 14 days).
I appealed the PCN's on the grounds that:
a) the signs are not clear. There are 4 signs at the entrance to
the road split across both sides and there's way too much
information on them to be able to absorb it all at normal
(legal) driving speeds.
b) The restrictions are supposedly designed to stop people using
the road as a cut through and to help improve air quality in the
area. I wasn't using the road as a cut through, I was merely
parking there and by doing so, I was spending up to 40 mins less
on the road so was helping improve air quality even more!
My appeal has been rejected on the grounds that the signs
supposedly confirm to Traffic Signs Regulations and General
Directions (TSRGD) 2016, although I maintain that they fail the
requirement that combined messages should can be easily
assimilated by a road user driving at speeds appropriate to the
road they're on.
My fear is if I pay these, they could send me more PCNs covering
the whole 3 weeks and I'd potentially end up having to cough up
£3,360!
The path to tribunal seems pointless as none of the grounds for
appeal include the option that the signs were unclear or that my
actions actually helped improve air quality even more than
"following the rules".
I could really do without this extra stress at this time.
Just wondering if there's a path that would help the council see
that the signs are not fit for purpose and the set-up as it
stands penalises innocent drivers unfairly.
I've uploaded the CCTV footage from the PCN here:
Road signs information overload
HTML https://youtu.be/CslMxhlZmAg
#Post#: 123783--------------------------------------------------
Re: Road signs information overload - PCN Hammersmith and Fulham
Council
DIR By: fraser.mitchell
Date: July 5, 2026, 3:17 am
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First point is - did you not understand what the "Flying
Motorbike" sign on the left means ? These are now commonplace
all over London, and mean "No entry for road vehicles"
Second point is that one could argue the signage is inadequate,
because these "FM" signs should be in pairs, one each side of
the entrance to the street.
And finally, please read this and update your thread
accordingly: -
HTML https://www.ftla.uk/civil-penalty-charge-notices-(councils-tfl-and-so-on)/read-this-first-before-posting-your-case!-this-section-is-for-council-tfl-dartme/
Did you stop using this street when the first PCN arrived ? If
so, make a list of all the PCNs you receive with their date of
arrival at your house, and list them here. An appeal argument
that has worked in the past has been that you were unaware of
the contravention until the first PCN arrived, therefore those
dated between the first PCN and the date of that PCN's arrival
represent a disproportionate penalty.
#Post#: 123795--------------------------------------------------
Re: Road signs information overload - PCN Hammersmith and Fulham
Council
DIR By: mrmustard
Date: July 5, 2026, 6:50 am
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Hammersmith are one of the most generous when it comes to
cancellations in my experience.
I think I would take a totally different approach for the PCNs
for which representations have not yet been made to the council.
Don't mention the contravention at all and ask only for a
discretionary cancellation due to the medical circumstances and
provide documentary proof. I'm thinking ahead to a possible
tribunal Appeal and this case
HTML https://lbbspending.blogspot.com/2026/07/exercise-of-discretion-must-have-open.html
HTML https://lbbspending.blogspot.com/2026/07/exercise-of-discretion-must-have-open.html
I'm not sure it matters much but is the car registered to
husband or wife?
One problem is that the council are entitled to remove the
discount after 14 days whether you make a representation or not.
We need to see one of the rejection letters, assuming they are
all the same, cover up only your name and address.
At the tribunal I would argue that signage is inadequate in that
although it is perfectly ok to only have one sign at a location,
to put different signs on each side of the road makes it likely
that a driver will only take one in. Against you is the fact
that you didn't see the 'flying motorbike' sign c. 15 times. I
also recently blogged about this sign
HTML https://lbbspending.blogspot.com/2026/05/beware-flying-motorbike-sign.html
HTML https://lbbspending.blogspot.com/2026/05/beware-flying-motorbike-sign.html
A separate tack: do you live within the borough and so could go
to your local councillor to ask them to advocate with parking on
your behalf? (whilst meeting all PCN processing deadlines at the
same time).
#Post#: 123813--------------------------------------------------
Re: Road signs information overload - PCN Hammersmith and Fulham
Council
DIR By: cookie23
Date: July 5, 2026, 11:04 am
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I have very rarely seen the "flying motorbike" sign. The only
ones I remember seeing are the ones on e.g. Oxford Street where
only buses are allowed IIRC. I still think they should be
clearer. e.g. a regular No Entry sign with exceptions underneath
would be much better.
I live in the London Borough of Hillingdon and I've not seen any
signs like this one around here.
There was too much writing under the sign to take it all in as I
turned the corner into the road. And seeing other cars parked
along the road it wasn't immediately apparent that only some
cars are allowed down the road.
Maybe I'm just getting old (nearing mid 50's now), but it's a
known fact
HTML https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0386111219300433older<br
/>people can take twice as long to take in road sign information
compared to younger people.
On some days I was travelling to Bryony Road from the opposite
side and I don't even remember seeing any signs prohibiting
entry on that side, but with everything else I've had going on,
maybe I missed them.
12 May was the 1st day I parked on Bryony Road although looking
at my Google Maps timeline, 11 May was the first day I got fed
up with being stuck in traffic and parked on a side road (no
restrictions) south of the A40. It would appear I drove down
Bryony Road on the 11th while scouting for a suitable road a bit
closer to the A40 for future parking.
My wife was discharged from Hammersmith Hospital on 20 May, so
no more visits after that date. The first PCN was received
towards the end of May I believe. It's dated 27 May so must have
been 28 or 29 May I'm guessing.
PCN Number Dated Alleged offence date/time
HZ9898042A 27/05/2026 11/05/2026 18:26
HZ98978541 27/05/2026 11/05/2026 21:22
HZ98980973 27/05/2026 12/05/2026 20:33
HZ99126310 04/06/2026 19/05/2026 21:01
Google Street View Bryony Road
HTML https://maps.app.goo.gl/xNSHaWPMKVi1P8JS7
Can't remember when they were received exactly, but the one
dated 4 Jun was received 5 Jun.
Car is registered to my wife and we didn't open the letters
until after she got home from surgery as they were addressed to
her.
I have emailed ivanleo for direct help as only about a week left
before the charge doubles if I don't appeal. It will also double
if I appeal and lose. :(
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