Golders Manor Drive - can you help?

Golders Manor Drive, London NW11 (Stacey Harris) / CC BY-SA 2.0

Someone needs your help. They got a parking ticket and the appeal was heard at PATAS this week. Here are the notes:

Mr M. Jnr. attended in person at the hearing of his appeal before me. He was accompanied by his father, Mr M Snr.. Mr M Jnr. accepted that the Penalty Charge Notice in this case was issued because his vehicle was parked in a bay bearing a sign indicating that the bay was reserved to permit holders only from Monday to Friday between 11 am and Midday. However, he appealed on the grounds that the sign was not in place when he parked. Indeed, he was adamant that the sign had been erected that very morning.

In correspondence with the local authority, the appellant asked the authority when the sign was erected. There has been a deafening silence from the authority on this point. The authority concedes that there was no sign to indicate the restriction in previous months, but maintains that there was a sign at the time of the contravention.

That however, is not the point. Of course the appellant accepts that the sign was in place when the PCN was issued; he argues that it was not in place when he parked. Indeed, he goes further, and suggests that the sign was only erected that morning.

As the authority has failed to inform me when the sign was erected (a matter which it cannot be difficult to ascertain) I must accept the appellant's account that it was only erected that morning. On the evidence that is before me, I accept that the appellant parked in an unmarked bay and accordingly I will allow the appeal.

The appellant indicated that he will be asking for costs. This must be done in writing and I have asked him to prepare a schedule of costs. The authority will then be given an opportunity to respond. If it is the case that the sign was indeed erected that morning, an application for costs will be hard to resist.

If any reader happened to see a sign being erected in Golders Manor Drive on 30 May 2012 do let Mr Mustard know and he will try and find the motorist and/or provide the information directly to PATAS quoting case no. 2120557324.

It is rather depressing that a local authority seeks to stoop so low in order to catch unwitting motorists who have tried to follow the rules. All the council does is put futher members of society against them. 

This is redolent of their behaviour in north finchley when they did a swoop with several wardens at the same time as changing the signs. You can see for yourself that PATAS do not like this sort of udnerhand behaviour and will give costs to motorists who have been stung.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard