Advice about penalty notice for parking in loading bay

[emc]

I know I've probably been really dumb but I parked in the loading bay just down the side of cafe Nero on Friday for 13 mins. The notice says it's a loading bay, 30 mins (or 40?) no return within two hours. I was going to get a piece of heavy furniture from Oliver bonas but ended up not getting it. I genuinely thought it was ok to park in those bays for the allotted time period - I'm guessing an appeal would be pointless? Any advice much appreciated.

[Salsaboy]

As I understand it, loading bays are for commercial vehicles making short stops whilst making deliveries or collections. The only way you can use one legally and you are not in a van or lorry is if you have ordered something and already paid for it. I don't think it would work if you were picking up a packet of biscuits but would work if it were a large item.

This website is a good source of information. http://www.ticketfighter.co.uk/parking.htm#loading

[ianr]

If you want to have a look at what I assume to be case law that looks as if it might be relevant to your circumstance, you could go to http://keycases.parkingandtrafficappeals.gov.uk/ and download the cases provided under the Subject of Loading/unloading exemptions.

From a very cursory and partial flip through the two compendious judgments (Flowers and Norrell) I'd be looking, as an outside possibility, at whether you were able to argue and prove that your parking was _solely_ for the _purpose_ of necessary collection (ie a vehicle was needed), and not just on the offchance that a collection might have been possible, _and_ that the full thirteen minutes should be considered as part of the collection process, despite the fact that it was not concluded with a collection. Was the collection even pre-arranged, or partially attempted? Even then, you still need to show that "the vehicle was not left unattended at any time while it was so parked." I think for that that you might need to show that you kept it under observation all that time.

Anyway, look at the judgments and you'll get some flavour of the kinds of considerations and argument that might be relevant. How far you'd get with any informal representations to the council or whatever it is people do short of formal appeal, I've no idea.

PS I've just had a look at your posting history, and it's reminded me that I PM'd you, after you'd said you'd attended some of the Max Clifford case, to ask you about how much competition there was for places in the public gallery at that court in any of the celeb cases. You didn't even reply to me.