Does the council have to warn before creating a temporary no-parking zone?

Question

Is there a minimum warning period before a temporary parking restriction can come into force.

I parked in an unmarked section of road one evening, only to return the following early afternoon to find that yellow police cones had been put down and my car towed away (there was a festival happening in the adjacent Finsbury Park that day).

I had to pay £250 to get my car out of the car pound.

Surely I should have been warned that the following day, parking would be restricted in that area?

I want to dispute my Fixed Penalty Notice but can't find the point of law on which to do so. Any help?

Answer 1

From the description of events that you describe, the council should have an obligation to pre-inform drivers.

However, this can merely be a notice affixed to a lamp-post in the affected street, giving details of the closure and the length of the street that is affected.  You don't say if you live in the street in question or if you were staying nearby.

By all means dispute the costs of recovering your car but if anyone in the street saw a notice, and you will have to do the detective work to try to prove that there was none, you are unlikely to succeed.

Answer 2

well dude i live in california so i dont think i can help much but ill try. here i believe people are required to be given 3 days notice at the very least. sometimes we will be given almost as much as 2 weeks.

all i can do is offer advice cuz i dont know how laws are in your area (noticed that you were paying in pounds) surely you must be advised in the actual violation where they will tell you exactly what you did. with a number refering to your violation. look the law up break it down piece by piece. find any discrepancies in it that are there. any law retaining to the forwarning of the temporary no parking zone should be in the immediate area of law of where your violation is because they are related.

good luck man

Answer 3

No notice has to be given for the use of no waiting cones but normally any vehicles that are in situ when the cones are placed are noted and will not be ticketed. But if a vehicle is causing an obstruction it matters not if there are cones present or not vehicles can be ticketed and towed.

Answer 4

Im not sure legally, but I would assume so.  

Normally they put up yellow plastic signs on the lamp posts warning that it will be a no parking area in advance of the time, and it states the period for which it extends and the reason for it.  Are you sure there were no signs on the other posts that you didn't notice?  if not, I'm sure you'd have a good case for appeal as its not your fault.

Answer 5

Check out this site maybe they can help?

http://www.abd.org.uk/