A Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) was issued on a vehicle not wholly within the markings of the bay/space a car park, in Belfast. The appellant explained that the vehicle was parked within the car park in a suitable location and that it did not block anyone.

The Roads Service case summary states that the appellant confirmed the car was parked outside one of the bays. The Roads Service stated that the regulations are enforced on the grounds of safety, allowing the passage of emerging vehicles and preventing inconvenience to other users of the car park.

The Roads Service has also submitted a number of photographs of the vehicle taken by the Traffic Attendant together with subsequent photographs of the car park with an arrow marking the position in which the vehicle was parked.  The photographs also show the sign showing the car park name, to which is clearly attached a further smaller sign entitled “Off Street Parking Order”. 

Article 5 of the relevant order of that Order states that “the driver of a vehicle shall not permit it to wait in a parking place other than in a position wholly within a parking bay where such has been marked out.”  The photographs before me show other marked bays in the car park in question.  The appellant has accepted that she was not parked in a bay.  I find as fact that the contravention did occur.

Article 13 and Article 9 (2) of the Traffic Management (NI) Order 2005 only permit appeals to be allowed on limited grounds.  In this case, as I am satisfied the contravention did occur, the appeal must fail.

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