I live on the High Street in the London Borough of Sutton.

Recently a visitor received a PCN while parked on the single yellow line outside my house shortly before 8pm.

All the nearest (under 100m) yellow control signs for single yellows nearby show restricted times of Mon-Sat 08:00 to 18:30, however there is not a yellow sign directly at this location. Seeing the single yellow line, and the time, my visitor thought parking would be fine.

At the location there is also double yellow blips, controlled by a No Loading sign.

To compound the confusion, at this location there is a newly installed sign stating 'no idling, turn engine off while waiting'.

She submitted an appeal expecting the ticket to have been issued in error by an over-exuberant TCO over the xmas period and to be overturned, unfortunately the appeal was rejected on the basis of no loading at any time.

My question is,

is there any point in continuing the appeals process on the basis that the single yellow would have reasonably considered to have been in force, on confusing signage / markings, was waiting/parked not loading, or possible other basis, or, to pay the discounted penalty before they remove the option.

Thanks in advance.

The contravention on the PCN -

02 - Parked or loading/unloading in a restricted street where waiting and loading/unloading restrictions are in force.

Location postcode (for Google mappers!) - SM1 1LD

There doesnt have to be a sign exactly at that location. If there was a prohibitive sign along the road, or repeaters along the same yellow line, then it counts. Can you give more of an exact location please as that post code is for a fairly long stretch of road

The car was parked directly outside the Betfred / 'Lesna Chata' shops. The empty pole at that location (and in these pictures) has since had added to it the signs mentioned above ('No loading at any time' and 'turn off engine when waiting'). The blips which are extremely faded in the google images have been repainted, though now more visible have already started fading, not enough to be an issue. Everything else appears to be the same as now.

There are yellow restricted time signs, within 100m along the road, both before and after this point. As with all other single yellow signs in sutton, these have the Mon-Sat 08:00 - 18:30.

That stretch of yellow line between the zig-zags at one end and the loading bay (outside Lycamobile) must have its own sign. The council cannot rely on signs governing other lengths of yellow line, even in the same street.

You say the sign saying "no loading" has been erected since the Google photo - but was it there on the day the car was parked?

Either way, you may have a case. First thing, ASAP, it to ask the Council for a copy of the Traffic Order for that location. This will state what the restriction should be.

Then, the question is, was that restriction correctly and adequately signed? I can't see why they would put a single yellow line down on a 24/7 no-loading restiction, and in any case, the chevrons on the kerb are almost invisible in the photo, so there could be genuine confusion.

Can you look into the Traffic Order and let us know what it says - also what sign was there on the day.

Thanks for the reply. I will ask for a copy of the Traffic Order for this stretch first thing on Monday.

The no loading at any time and the turn off engine while waiting signs were in place on the day. Also, as mentioned above, the yellow blips are more evident now than in the google image. The single yellow line has been in place all of the 10 years i've lived here, with vehicles parking along that stretch of yellow line all of that time during the 'apparently' unrestricted time.

the thing prescribing the parking isnt the single yellow line but the no loading so that is what you need to look at. You havent been accused of parking within restricted hours so unless the traffic order is somehow applied to other activites then it is incorrectly issued.

as an aside a couple of Sutton's enforcement officers believe that parking is prohibited everywhere unless it is specifically indicated otherwise and issue tickets accordingly. I think that an appeal will be successful but follow the yellow line in each direction to see where it terminates and what the signs say along its length.

Quick update on this. I have been chasing this tco several times but have still never received a copy of the documentation. That said, on the most recent call, they did decide to cancel the ticket as a 'goodwill gesture'. Whilst it doesn't answer the question it is a good outcome on the ticket.

Can anyone recommend any good reading on the status of these markings. In particular, I'm confused as to the single yellow line, and its meaning. In Sutton, ALL other single yellow lines have the same restrictions of Mon-Sat 08:00-18:30, and none have double blips. Every other location with double blips is also marked with double yellow lines.

The reading i've found elsewhere seems to indicate that yellow lines restrict waiting, with blips separately designating any restrictions on loading. The markings at this location certainly confuse me (and clearly the dozens of other people who park at this location every single day, and all of the 10 years i've lived here.

I think the markings are probably wrong. If it's 24/7 it should be double yellows - single yellows are for restrictions which only apply during certain hours - and they need a sign next to them.

The Traffic Order would reveal what the actual restriction is.