01 December 2023 , 17:17
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A driver has won a legal challenge against his local council after he insisted its parking signs were "too small."
Chris Burton, 42, was hit with a £60 fine while dropping his dad at a hospital appointment, he says he did not notice the signs but when he returned to the car, he discovered the penalty charge notice (PCN) on his windshield. However, the cunning motorist had a feeling the parking sign was short of its 20cm requirement. He went with a tape measure to investigate and found it was 6cm short.
A county court judgement then ruled the order for Chris to pay his ticket should be "revoked" after he submitted pages of evidence - including the size of the signs. Chris, a TV cameraman from Manchester, now thinks his work could help others question parking tickets. He said: "I want to encourage others to go back to Bury council with old tickets to say they weren't legal. UK law says signs have to be 20cm in size, but when I checked the signs that were there, they were only 14cm."
Chris Burton measuring permit holders sign, after finding the 'blue P' was 6cm short of 20cm (Louise Burton / SWNS)Chris initially appealed the ticket online and says it was rejected within minutes, so he appealed again in June and says he heard nothing back for months. But in September he received a letter from the council saying they were taking the case to Northampton County Court to recover costs. He had initially complained that the two residents-only parking signs in the area had either been covered up by a bush or turned around. He later decided to measure the signs and sent all his evidence to the court.
Chris said: "I thought it had all gone away after I appealed the second time. I was very annoyed. These people are faceless - they don't answer emails and there's no phone line to get them on, I wasn't able to contact anyone properly to discuss it They took me to court to try and sue me, but the court sided with me." The matter has since been taken to tribunal and Bury council said it was not yet aware of the tribunal's outcome. It is understood that, until that ruling is published, the PCN is still active. But if the tribunal rules in Chris's favour, it will be cancelled.
A council spokesperson said: "Mr Burton was issued with a PCN for parking without a permit in a residents' only parking zone near Fairfield Hospital. His initial appeal was rejected, and he was informed that he could either pay the PCN or appeal to the independent parking tribunal in Manchester. If he did appeal to the adjudicator [tribunal], we have not been informed of the outcome. As far as the size of parking signs is concerned - we believe this issue relates to a tiny number of signs located at residents-only parking zones, not to parking signs in general across the borough. We are satisfied that the overwhelming number of signs across Bury are fully in accordance with national regulations, and any which are not will be rectified."
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