􀏭. Against how many vehicles have you issued penalty charge notices relating to parking in the loading bay located on the northern side of Kensington High Street, London W14 (outside “Kenton Court” and “Green Valley” delicatessen, approximately numbers 􀏯􀏰􀏴-􀏯􀏱􀏰 Kensington High Street, London W14) in the 􀏭􀏮 month period ending 31 October 2020? Of those vehicles against which penalty charge notices were issued for this particular loading bay: a. How many (or what proportion) were cars (driving license category B, with or without trailer)? b. How many (or what proportion) were vans/light vehicles (driving license category B1, with or without trailer)? c. How many (or what proportion) were lorries or large lorries (driving license categories C and C1, without or without trailer)? 􀏯. What decision making criteria are used to establish whether a vehicle parked in that bay is using it lawfully or unlawfully? 􀏰. What is your definition of “loading” or “unloading” and what criteria are used to assess whether an object loaded/unloaded is of sufficient size or weigh to legitimate use of that bay? 􀏱. What guidance do you give to CCTV camera operators where they do not have footage from beginning to end of a particular vehicle’s parking session, but in instances where the total duration of the parking session did not exceed the permitted maximum of 􀏮􀏬 minutes? 􀏲. Please supply a copy of all and any written guidance issued to CCTV camera operators and all those who are responsible for determining whether or not PCNs should be issued upon review of CCTV footage.

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TfL Ref: FOI-1595-2021

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 3 November 2020, asking for information about a loading bay penalty charge notices (PCNs).

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.  I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require. You asked:

1. Against how many vehicles have you issued penalty charge notices relating to parking in the loading bay located on the northern side of Kensington High Street, London W14 (outside “Kenton Court” and “Green Valley” delicatessen, approximately numbers 348-354 Kensington High Street, London W14) in the 12 month period ending 31 October 2020?

TfL issued 1,676 PCNs at this location between 31 October 2019 and 31 October 2020. These were issued to 1,474 single vehicles. Therefore some vehicles would have been issued more than one PCN for parking contraventions here during this time period.

1. Of those vehicles against which penalty charge notices were issued for this particular loading bay:

a. How many (or what proportion) were cars (driving license category B, with or without trailer)?

b. How many (or what proportion) were vans/light vehicles (driving license category B1,with or without trailer)?

c. How many (or what proportion) were lorries or large lorries (driving license categories C and C1, without or without trailer)?

We do not hold information by vehicle type as this is DVLA data.                     

1. What decision making criteria are used to establish whether a vehicle parked in that bay is using it lawfully or unlawfully?

1. What is your definition of “loading” or “unloading” and what criteria are used to assess whether an object loaded/unloaded is of sufficient size or weigh to legitimate use of that bay?

1. What guidance do you give to CCTV camera operators where they do not have footage from beginning to end of a particular vehicle’s parking session, but in instances where the total duration of the parking session did not exceed the permitted maximum of 20 minutes?

1. Please supply a copy of all and any written guidance issued to CCTV camera operators and all those who are responsible for determining whether or not PCNs should be issued upon review of CCTV footage.

The relevant legislation allows us to issue a PCN when we have reason to believe a contravention has occurred. In practice, this means that our camera operators may issue a PCN if they believe that a loading bay is not being used correctly. There is no requirement for the footage to be reviewed by another person before the PCN is issued. Any driver who has received a PCN has the legal right to challenge the PCN through the statutory representations and appeals procedures.

Legislation does not set out a universal definition of loading and unloading because it is recognised that each case should be considered on its own merits. The general interpretation of the restriction is that the loading/unloading should be in the nature of a collection/delivery. This does not include parking in the bay. Essentially loading (in a non-commercial context) is the operation of transferring, to or from a vehicle, goods which require the use of a vehicle to transport them. We would expect that motorists only use the loading bays on the red route for their intended purpose and that the use of a vehicle is necessary, rather than convenient. The vehicle must be moved from the bay as soon as loading/unloading has been completed.

Appeals against PCNs issued in London are heard by independent Adjudicators and all decisions are published in a statutory register, which is available on the London Tribunals website at https://www.londontribunals.gov.uk/about/registers-appeals. The definition of loading/unloading, and the circumstances which may constitute the correct use of a loading bay was considered at length by a panel of Adjudicators in the case of Bosworth & Others -v- LB Tower Hamlets & Others. A copy of this decision can be found in the Key Cases section of the London Tribunals website at https://www.londontribunals.gov.uk/eat/key-cases.

The guidance issued to authorities in London is the Code of Practice on Civil Parking Enforcement, which is available on the London Councils website at https://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/services/parking-services/parking-and-traffic/parking-information-professionals/code-practice-civil. The recommended observation times for loading bays are referred to in Section G. It should be noted however that this is a guideline rather than a rule or a legal requirement. As explained in the guidance, a 5 minute period of observation is generally accepted as sufficient time to establish if a loading bay is being used correctly, however in some cases this may require a longer or shorter observation period. This approach is supported by the panel’s findings in the Bosworth decision referred to above that “the longer the observation period with no sign of movement of goods the greater the evidential burden on the motorist to give some explanation for this and demonstrate that something amounting to loading was in progress out of view”.

If you are considering submitting a further FOI request please think carefully about whether the request is essential at this current time, as answering FOI requests will require the use of limited resources and the attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. Where requests are made, please note that our response time may be impacted by the current situation.

If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.

Yours sincerely

Eva Hextall

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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