Landmark win over parking ticket

The adjudicator ruled that the penalty notice was invalid

A parking ticket appeal decision could mean Aberdeen City Council having to write off unpaid fines.

The Scottish Parking Appeals Service adjudicator ruled that a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) placed on a car parked on Margaret Street in 2005 was invalid.

He said the notice did not communicate "with certainty" the date of the PCN or the date on which it was issued.

The ruling could mean fines issued between 2003 and 2006, totalling more than £2.1m, may be unenforceable.

Scottish appeals adjudicator Peter Royds referred to an appeal upheld against Barnet Council in London last year, which ruled that tickets must display information in accordance with Section 66 of the Road Traffic Act 1991.

In February, Edinburgh wrote off £6.5m in unpaid fines after a previous decision by the adjudicator.

'Potential uncertainty'

The adjudicator said this omission of the required information "created potential uncertainty" as to when the periods for payment of the penalty charge and the reduced penalty charge begin and end.

Mr Royds ordered Aberdeen City Council, which hands out about 75,000 fines a year, to cancel the parking ticket.

The council has 14 days to appeal.

A spokesman for Aberdeen City Council said: "The council is seeking external legal advice and once that has been received a report will go to the relevant committee."

Six authorities in Scotland run their own parking patrol service - Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Perth and Kinross, Glasgow and South Lanarkshire.

The remaining 26 rely on police traffic wardens.