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#Post#: 56369--------------------------------------------------
Havering, Parking in a suspended bay - Branfill Road, Upminster
DIR By: ixo
Date: February 3, 2025, 9:10 am
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Penalty Charge Notice: HG20808110
Served on: 31/01/2025 09:18
Location: Branfill Road, Upminster
Council: London Borough of Havering
Contravention: Parking in a suspended bay
Vehicle Reg: FD24ZLZ
Vehicle was parked within disabled parking bay.
Blue badge was displayed (can be seen in image of car windscreen
below).
As can be seen from the various images at below weblinks,
notices of parking suspension were completely obscured by
roadworks signs.
The parking suspension signs could not be seen from the parking
space that was used.
[member=1]cp8759[/member] Would appreciate advice on likelihood
of success in appealing this penalty.
PCN_Image
HTML https://imgur.com/a/BGF9tMB
SuspensionSign_Obscured_01
HTML https://imgur.com/a/cESNiue
SuspensionSign_Obscured_02
HTML https://imgur.com/a/J9JZhEg
SuspensionSign_Obscured_03
HTML https://imgur.com/a/eEmc3JD
SuspensionSign_Obscured_04
HTML https://imgur.com/a/uer6TIw
View_of_car
HTML https://imgur.com/a/ghyDo3W
View_from_car
HTML https://imgur.com/a/gV57MA9
Google streetview link:
HTML https://maps.app.goo.gl/RNdnvESHfog4Bzac9
#Post#: 56421--------------------------------------------------
Re: Havering, Parking in a suspended bay - Branfill Road,
Upminster
DIR By: ivanleo
Date: February 3, 2025, 12:21 pm
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[member=3767]ixo[/member] I'll get the suspension logs, but the
key question is whether there was any suspension signs on the
actual regulatory signs for the bays, which are these ones:
HTML https://maps.app.goo.gl/wioZhwcUj9sdcevG7
I take it all the signs are now gone?
#Post#: 56438--------------------------------------------------
Re: Havering, Parking in a suspended bay - Branfill Road,
Upminster
DIR By: ixo
Date: February 3, 2025, 2:03 pm
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Thanks for your reply.
On the street there are five disabled parking bays. Adjacent to
these bays there are a total of four posts with regulatory signs
fitted.
From the following (annotated) photo taken on the date in
question, it can be seen that there is no suspension notice
fitted to the post nearest to the bay in which my vehicle was
parked. The next post has a suspension notice but it is almost
completely hidden by the "single file traffic" roadworks sign.
The next post has no suspension notice, and the final post may
have a suspension notice but is certainly not visible from the
position of the parking bay used.
Annotated photos of signage:
HTML https://imgur.com/a/tiIPbMg
As far as I'm aware the signs are all gone now, the restrictions
appear to have only been in place for one day
#Post#: 56442--------------------------------------------------
Re: Havering, Parking in a suspended bay - Branfill Road,
Upminster
DIR By: ivanleo
Date: February 3, 2025, 2:22 pm
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It would have been better to have a photo taken from further
back, as a suspicious adjudicator could wonder whether there's a
suspension sign on the first post further up that just isn't
visible in the photo, but I'll get hold of the photos from when
the signs were put up to deal with that point.
In the meantime it would be helpful to have a short narrative
about who parked (was it you), for how long, what the driver was
there for and so on.
#Post#: 56448--------------------------------------------------
Re: Havering, Parking in a suspended bay - Branfill Road,
Upminster
DIR By: ixo
Date: February 3, 2025, 3:09 pm
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I often park in the disabled bay when I visit M&S. I hadn’t been
for a week, I didn’t notice the suspension notice because I was
watching oncoming traffic as I approached the parking space.
I have trouble walking. So, I get out of the car and turn left,
away from the suspension notice. It is a shorter walk and there
is a customer lift.
I was only in the shop for a short time (I would estimate less
than 20 minutes), and when I returned to my car, I saw the
ticket and the warden and asked him why I had been ticketed. He
told me about the suspension and said it was clearly displayed.
I disagreed with him because of the traffic signs obscuring it.
He refused to rescind the ticket.
#Post#: 56450--------------------------------------------------
Re: Havering, Parking in a suspended bay - Branfill Road,
Upminster
DIR By: H C Andersen
Date: February 3, 2025, 3:23 pm
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On the street there are five disabled parking bays. Adjacent to
these bays there are a total of four posts with regulatory signs
fitted.
The photo (yours or the council's?) shows you were parked in the
first in a line of 5 bays within a single parking place. There
is no legal requirement for the council to place individual
parking signs because as all the bays are within the same
parking place and only a SINGLE restriction may apply and only
one sign is required.
And therein lies the issue IMO. That there isn't a traffic sign
in the first bay is not key except that each other bay has one.
It's as if the council treat each bay as being a separate
parking place. But the restrictions are the same i.e. 24/7
reserved to BB holders.
So what's your argument? In practice, as traffic signs aren't
required but may be provided then your obligation was to look
for the nearest applicable traffic sign, not 'turn left''. As a
matter of fact, did this sign (the traffic sign immediately
ahead in bay no.2) carry a suspension notice?
#Post#: 56453--------------------------------------------------
Re: Havering, Parking in a suspended bay - Branfill Road,
Upminster
DIR By: ixo
Date: February 3, 2025, 3:35 pm
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My argument, which is the one that I put to the warden at the
time, is that where suspension signs had been fitted, they were
obscured from view by the roadworks signs. They simply were not
clearly visible.
#Post#: 56456--------------------------------------------------
Re: Havering, Parking in a suspended bay - Branfill Road,
Upminster
DIR By: H C Andersen
Date: February 3, 2025, 3:44 pm
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Your obligation upon parking is to look for the nearest
applicable traffic sign. That you might have to skirt a
ground-mounted sign to do so is not the issue, neither is that
you couldn't see from X metres away.
Did the traffic sign mounted in bay 2 carry a suspension notice?
If yes, then your problems are significant IMO.
But if not, then you should be in the clear.
Not bothering to look and/or not seeing from where your car was
parked are not solid defences IMO. The sign in evidence suspends
all bays, but was this the one in bay no. 2?
#Post#: 56458--------------------------------------------------
Re: Havering, Parking in a suspended bay - Branfill Road,
Upminster
DIR By: ixo
Date: February 3, 2025, 3:53 pm
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Definitely wasn't a suspension notice on the post adjacent to
bay number 2. (Annotated photo shows this post close to a square
brown manhole cover in pavement).
HTML https://imgur.com/a/tiIPbMg
Can see same manhole cover on Google street view to confirm that
this is definitely the post adjacent to bay number 2
#Post#: 56465--------------------------------------------------
Re: Havering, Parking in a suspended bay - Branfill Road,
Upminster
DIR By: ivanleo
Date: February 3, 2025, 4:11 pm
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[member=3767]ixo[/member] I think there is a viable case but
obviously you must assume the council will reject, so this will
have to be taken to the tribunal.
Can you also post the back of the PCN?
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