Could you guys please help. This is my first time on the site and hoping I can receive some sort of advise..

Basically I went to Nottingham for the weekend from London. I have a letter today from Nottingham City Council for driving on a bus and cycle only late at 23:51 on 13.APR.18

The PCN from the city council was for driving on bus late on Lower Parliament St. Bus Gate. I wouldn't knowingly go on a bus only road.

Do I have any ground to appeal any of this?

Any help or advice on getting round this will be greatly appreciated

Nottingham are probably the most ruthless, venal and rapacious council outside London with form going back to the 70s with their ridiculous "Lilac Leopards" bus scheme. If you appeal it, they game the system by delaying replying beyond the discount period, so you have to pay the full amount if they reject your appeal unlike most councils that will re-offer it. All bus lane appeals are "formal", so if you appeal this, and they reject it, the next stage is the adjudicators at the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

I'm struggling to find this bus gate on GSV, but GSV may be out-of-date

Looks like it's here: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.9552642,-...33;8i6656?hl=en

The signs seem hard to miss. The only thing I can think of is that the location is a bit vague, given there's effectively two streets called "Lower Parliament Street" and they a separated by Huntingdon Street, and the fact that Incandescent (who is no novice) couldn't find the bus gate suggests it's arguably a vague location. Really the PCN should say "bus gate on Lower Parliament Street at the junction with Glasshouse Street and Broad Street". Obviously the council won't accept this and it would have to be argued at the tribunal, where the full penalty would be in play. Paying the discounted penalty might be best.

They use the within 28 days formula, so in essence allow you 1 more day than the regs allow. Nottingham never back down or use discretion so you would have to take this argument to adjudication, and on its own its not strong

Having now seen the location, (thanks CP8759), I would say, yes the signs are very prominent, but that it is impossible to read all the information quickly enough to make a decision. There is a load of text that can only be read when quite close up.

There was an adjudication on this in London, I think, where the adjudicator said that the information on the sign could not be read unless the driver stopped. What does the time 7 pm-7am apply to for instance ? Typical Nottingham, of course; set a load of traps and get rich on the proceeds

There is also the vague locus argument too.

I like your thinking Inc, I have this one of a similar nature

2160236698

Adjudicator
Sean Stanton-Dunne
Appeal decision
Appeal allowed
Direction
cancel the Penalty Charge Notice and the Notice to Owner.
Reasons
Mr Bertuzzi was scheduled for a personal hearing today but he has not attended and so the appeal is being decided in his absence.
This PCN was issued for the alleged contravention of failing to comply with restrictions on vehicles entering a pedestrian zone in Ripple Road, Barking. The alleged contravention occurred at 2.40pm on 17 April 2016.
I am allowing this appeal because I agree with Mr Bertuzzi's submission that the signage was not adequate to alert motorists to the pedestrian zone restrictions.
The restricted access sign relied upon by the Council is confusing and contains too much information for a motorist to attempt to read. The No Entry for motor vehicles is followed by an exception for buses, then by an exemption for access to Vicarage Fields and then by a further exemption for loading in marked bays. Beneath the exemption for loading in marked bays appears restricted times of Monday to Saturday 6am to 10.30am and 5pm to 7pm. At first glance, it is not apparent that the restricted hours apply to the loading exemption rather than to the general no entry restriction. In other words, a motorist attempting to read the restrictions in transit could easily conclude that the no entry restriction applies only during the restricted hours shown lower down. There is then a further no waiting restriction at the foot of the sign.

I came across this while silver surfing, is it of any use?

http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/format.cgi?d...adjudicator%22)

thought you would have been familiar with that one HCA, but not really, that concerns a bus only street signed with pedestrian zone signs and which has no scheduled bus route along it