Parking Tickets

Parking tickets issued by the Council are called 'Penalty Charge Notices' (PCNs). They are issued when drivers break parking rules or if drivers enter a bus lane during times of the day when restrictions are in operation.

Parking tickets are also issued when a moving traffic rule has been broken.

The Council processes PCNs according to the legal requirements and the London Councils Code of Practice. It specifies the steps we must follow to collect payment of a parking ticket and also the processes that drivers must follow to make a formal appeal against a PCN.

Changes in Parking Enforcement

The legislation that covers how parking is enforced changed on 31st March 2008. Regulations made under the Road Traffic Act 1991 were replaced by the Traffic Management Act 2004 (TMA).

The aim of the Guidance is to steer local governments into providing an open and fair parking enforcement policy whilst adopting clear and prescribed guidelines for dealing with parking contraventions.

What has changed?

Parking attendants are now referred to as Civil Enforcement Officers
Local Authorities are now required to publish their policies online.
The wording on the Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) changed to reflect the TMA
There has been an increase in the time allowed to pay a static CCTV Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) at the reduced rate from 14 to 21 days.
To reduce abuse of the Blue Badge scheme, which gives parking concessions to disabled people, powers have been introduced for civil enforcement officers to inspect the validity of Blue Badges. A number of successful operations have already been jointly undertaken with the Metropolitan Police.
Local authorities are expected to provide more detailed information on how to appeal or challenge a PCN.

Further information can be found on the Department for Transport website - please see the external links section below.