2 cases, same road, 2 different adjudicators, 2 completely different views
Case Reference: 2120057707
Authority: Newham
Contravention Date: 10 Nov 2011
Contravention Location: Gibbins Road
Contravention: Footway parking (one - four wheels on footway)
Decision Date: 05 Mar 2012
Adjudicator: Gerald Styles
Appeal Decision: Allowed
AllowedReasons:
I have viewed the cctv clip from the camera car (on which the GPS was apparently not set or broken).
I have seen it show a number of cars on what I take to be a forecourt that is not part of the road.
Wheels of appellant car we not actually on or over the footway (pavement) so far as I have been able to see and I have concluded the appeal is properly allowed.
RefusedCase Reference: 2120057762
Appellant: Miss Kathleen Merritt
Authority: Newham
Contravention Date: 27 Oct 2011
Contravention Location: Gibbins Road
Contravention: Footway parking (one - four wheels on footway)
Decision Date: 05 Mar 2012
Adjudicator: Christopher Rayner
Appeal Decision: Refused
Reasons: 1) Newham council provide photographs and supporting evidence showing Miss Merritt's car, N379JGD, parked on the forecourt to premises in Gibbins Road at 15:05 on 27 October 2011. They issued a postal penalty charge notice (PCN) to Miss Merritt alleging that her car was parked with one or more wheels on or over a footpath or any part of a road other than a carriageway. "Footway parking", as it is often referred to, is prohibited across the whole of London.
2) Miss Merritt explains that she was parked in a private forecourt, and that she was paying the owner of the forecourt to allow her to park there.
3) The photographs show that this may well be privately owned land. However, the nature of the area is such that it is clear that pedestrians have a right of access to and over it. As such, it is an area of land on which parking is prohibited, regardless of ownership of the land, or of any formal or informal relationship between the property owner and the motorist. This is a well established legal principle, confirmed by the Court of Appeal in the case of R (on the application of Dawoo) v Parking and Traffic Appeals Service, [2009] EWCA Civ 1411. Even accepting Miss Merritt's account, I must refuse this appeal.