In 2015 the government released guidelines for all council car parks in England, Scotland and Wales that gave motorist a 10 minute parking ticket grace period. However, the grace period was voluntary for Private Parking Companies (PPCs), that aren’t part of an Accredited Trade Association (ATA). Because of this a new parking code was required.
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The Private Parking Code of Practice
As of 7th June 2022, the Government have temporarily withdrawn The Private Parking Code of Practice pending a review in to the levels of private parking charges and additional fees.
The Private Parking Code of Practice, released in February 2022, outlines in Annex B that all parking operators are now required to apply a minimum of a 10 minute parking ticket grace period on controlled land where public parking is invited subject to the application of terms and conditions. This applies to England, Scotland and Wales and are a set of mandatory rules that all PPCs need to follow.
Rogue PPCs which break the Code will be barred from requesting Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) data. This will make it so they are unable to pursue motorists for their charges.
The Department of Transport advises that any Penalty Charge Notices issued within the 10 minute parking ticket grace period is illegal. That’s unless the vehicle is parked unlawfully.
The 10 minute parking ticket grace period also applies in parking bays in the following instances:
- At the start of controlled hours when the bays change from being uncontrolled to controlled;
- Upon expiry of a paid for session during controlled hours;
- Upon expiry of an allowed free parking period during controlled hours.
The 10 minute parking ticket grace period does not apply in the following instances:
- Anywhere outside of a parking bay. Such as when double parked, on yellow lines, on the footway, loading bans, etc;
- Where a vehicle is parked in a permitted parking bay during controlled hours without permission, without having made payment or without a permit beyond the first 10 minutes of control.
Can I Appeal A Parking Ticket Overstay?
If you have been issued a Parking Charge Notice or Penalty Charge Notice for an overstay within the 10 minute parking ticket grace period, you can contest it as it is illegal to have received it. The local authority or PPC must be part of an ATA. You can find out how to find out if they are part of an ATA by going to the Appeal A Grace Period Parking Ticket section of this article. If they are part of an ATA, just follow the appeals procedure on the Parking Charge Notice.
Reasons To Appeal A Parking Ticket
The Private Parking Code of Practice Annex F also provided operators with a list of mitigating circumstances warranting cancellation of a Parking Charge Notice or Penalty Charge Notice, subject to evidence being provided:
- Where the driver has paid the tariff but made a keying error when registering their vehicle. This could include entering characters that are similar, such as I instead of L, 1 instead of I, 0 instead of o; letters wrong or missing; characters swapped; entering vehicle registration of their previous vehicle or another vehicle from their household;
- Where the driver or a passenger in the vehicle suffers the onset of illness, have been delayed resulting from childcare arrangements; or are delayed by an overrunning medical appointment;
- Where the vehicle has broken down;
- Where a permit to park has not been displayed but the driver subsequently supplies a copy of the permit they hold that would have been valid at the time identified in the notice;
- Where a Blue Badge has not been displayed but the holder of the Blue Badge supplies a copy of it that would have been valid at the time and in the circumstances identified in the notice;
- Where one or more payment machines were out of operation, no alternative payment options were available and the driver could not reasonably be expected to have accessed machines on the controlled land that were still in operation; and
- Where the parking operator has breached an obligation in this The Private Parking Code of Practice relating to the issue of a notice, or such that the driver was unable to adhere to the relevant obligations.
Appeal A Grace Period Parking Ticket
These reasons above are still at the discretion of the local authority or PPC. However, if you feel you have valid proof for your reason, and your claim was rejected, you can then use an independent appeals service.
The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (POFA) required both of the two Accredited Trade Associations (ATA) to create their own independent appeals service. The two ATAs are the British Parking Association (BPA) and the International Parking Community (IPC).
This paved the way for the inception of the independent appeals services known as Parking on Private Land Appeals (POPLA), for BPA members, and the Independent Appeals Service (IAS), for IPC members.
You need to find out if the local council or PPC is a member of either:
You can then make your way to:
- POPLA – If the local council or PPC is a member of BPA;
- IAS – If the local council or PPC is a member of IPC.
Both POPLA and IAS will guide you through the appeals process.
TLDR: Parking Ticket Grace Period
- The Private Parking Code of Practice required all parking operators to apply a minimum of a 10 minute parking ticket grace period on controlled land where public parking is available;
- The Private Parking Code of Practice Annex F provides a list of mitigating circumstances warranting cancellation of a Parking Charge Notice or Penalty Charge Notice, subject to evidence being provided;
- If your appeal gets rejected by the local council or Private Parking Company (PPC), you may be able to escalate it though an independent appeals service such as Parking on Private Land Appeals (POPLA) or the Independent Appeals Service (IAS).
Sources used to write this article: