Parking ticket in disabled bay

[Henners84]

Hi all. Looking for help please.
My wife received a parking ticket for being parked in a disabled 'bay' outside our flat
You can see from the photo that the sign is clear to see but there is no painted bay. The car was parked in the space before the sign was erected and we (nor our neighbours) have knowledge of receiving advanced notice from the council about the change. In addition to this my wife, after giving birth a few weeks via caesarian is not insured to drive the car (insurance not valid for 6 weeks after caesarian).
Can she appeal the ticket or does she have to pay.
Thanks in advance for your help.

[DaveH23]

Not sure if that reads as the sign being errected whilst the car was there or it's a new sign and you weren't told about it.

If the latter then I'd suggest you're bang to rights.

[RC1807]

Do a Joe Lycett style appeal email / registers letter to the local council.

Or,...

In the dead of night, remove the sign* and claim, "what sign?".



(* I don't recommend this option.)

[Alucidnation]

Not sure the council would need to inform anybody of a change in parking restrictions.

It’s not like it’s your personal space.

And I am also not convinced that the council workers would install the sign and report back there is an unauthorised vehicle parked in the space.

Unless they trouble installing it because your car was in the way and they had a moan to head office.

Edited by Alucidnation on Saturday 5th December 09:07

[TTOBES]

Annoying.
However, If the council have put the sign up you can probably call them out on why they didn't paint the disabled bay at the same time, ie, because your car was in the way.

Did the council put warning signs on the nearest existing signposts to your property, but they're a bit far away that you could rightly assume they weren't anything to do with the spaces outside and either side of your property?

[2 GKC]

She can appeal it but I think she’d be wasting her time

[Henners84]

Hi, the sign post was there previously. It stated the standard residents only parking restrictions. When the car was originally parked we belive the standards residents bay restriction sign was there. Between that time and the time the ticket was issued we believe a council worker has taken down the old sign and put up a new sign in its place. There have been no changes to the road markings

[Henners84]

Edit... Don't think the council workers would have put the ticket on. We have a warden who comes round daily between 10am and midday (that's when the residential restrictions bite). I imagine it was that warden that issued the ticket rather than the council worker who erected the sign. We or our neighbours are not aware of prior notice.

[BertBert]

what does the council say?

[Henners84]

BertBert said:

what does the council say?

There's no contact details for the team that deals with matters other than by making a formal appeal. Before making a formal appeal we're trying to find out what our rights are? Ie can a ticket be applied if you parked before the restriction was added and can a ticket be applied without the bay being marked? Practically I feel it is a bit harsh (especially as there are no marked bays still so everyone on the road is petrified of parking anyway near it - there's room to park lorries now back to back on our side!), but aware that sometimes the letter of the law can put you in an unfortunate position if the circumstances just work out wrong

[Riley Blue]

Henners84 said:

BertBert said:

what does the council say?

There's no contact details for the team that deals with matters other than by making a formal appeal. Before making a formal appeal we're trying to find out what our rights are? Ie can a ticket be applied if you parked before the restriction was added and can a ticket be applied without the bay being marked? Practically I feel it is a bit harsh (especially as there are no marked bays still so everyone on the road is petrified of parking anyway near it - there's room to park lorries now back to back on our side!), but aware that sometimes the letter of the law can put you in an unfortunate position if the circumstances just work out wrong

I'd expect every council to have officers who deal with changes to parking restrictions, mine does. It's them you should be contacting first to find out when the sign was changed, over what area it is now disabled, when was notification posted and how etc. etc.

[Cudd Wudd]

Henners84 said:

Hi, the sign post was there previously. It stated the standard residents only parking restrictions. When the car was originally parked we belive the standards residents bay restriction sign was there. Between that time and the time the ticket was issued we believe a council worker has taken down the old sign and put up a new sign in its place. There have been no changes to the road markings

Isn’t it more likely the sign had changed before the car was parked, but just wasn’t noticed? I’d imagine most people who park in the same area regularly don’t routinely check each time to see if the signage has changed. But would when presented with a ticket. Perhaps seek confirmation as to the date/time (if possible) it was switched over and work back from there.

[megaphone]

I would hazard a guess that one of the residents has requested a dedicated disabled bay near their home. Council have yet to paint the road accordingly. How big is the current bay? Check if it has the correct road markings.

I would appeal.

[Matt_E_Mulsion]

How long is it since the car physically last moved in or out of that space???

[The Mad Monk]

BertBert said:

what does the council say?

Why don't you sign your posts?

[fred bloggs]

No road markings ? Appeal,appeal,appeal. If there are no markings on the ground stating where the disabled bay starts/ends, then there cant be any bay ,can there?

Anyway , that car is vulgar. Just my opinion. Incidentally, which council are we talking here?

Edited by fred bloggs on Saturday 5th December 11:13

[Henners84]

I agree the car is vulgar! We've had that discussion at home (doesn't stop me enjoying my 996 which is what I spend most my time in)! The car hasn't been moved for a long time. Wife stopped driving for a couple of months before giving birth (was getting too difficult for her with her bump and she felt the kicking was too distracting to her when driving) and has not driven since (cesarean means her car insurance is not valid until 6 weeks after birth for her to drive it (were currently at 5 weeks)

[Henners84]

We're talking lambeth Council so, if anyone is better at googling or being aware of contact details it'll be appreciated. None of our neighbours (direct neighbours either side) are aware of why the parking space was requested. I assume a neighbour further away has moved in who has a disability but for some reason the space could not be located outside their house (although no restrictions in the rest of the road so unsure why not). Also not observed any car using the space yet with a disabled sticker

[anonymous-user]

Lambeth is responsive by email if you send a query via the Council's website. A quick exchange of emails cancelled a ticket for parking outside my house caused by confusion about my resident's permit.

[AJL308]

If there is no marked bay then how can they issue a ticket?