How to Challenge a Code 27 PCN: Parking Beside a Dropped Kerb

What a Code 27 PCN Alleges

Code 27 concerns parking adjacent to a dropped footway, cycle track or verge in a special enforcement area. Under section 86 of the Traffic Management Act 2004, the lowering must serve a specified purpose: helping pedestrians cross, cyclists enter or leave the carriageway, or vehicles cross the footway to access premises. The restriction is not limited to driveways.

On-Street Parking: PCN, Notice to Owner and Formal Representations

A parking PCN served at the vehicle can be challenged before a Notice to Owner arrives. The later notice is a separate statutory step, not merely another copy of the original ticket. Identify the document you have and send the challenge at that stage.

• PCN on the windscreen or handed to the driver: send an informal challenge to the issuing authority. Explain the disputed parking condition and attach the evidence that supports cancellation.
• Notice to Owner: if one is served, the owner makes formal representations against it. Repeat the relevant evidence and address any earlier rejection; an informal challenge does not replace this response.
• Postal parking PCN: make formal representations against the postal PCN without waiting for a Notice to Owner. The authority needs a lawful basis for postal service, such as qualifying prevented service, a drive-away after the officer began preparing the PCN, or an eligible approved-device case.
• Notice of Rejection: appeal to the tribunal named in that notice. London civil parking cases go to London Tribunals; relevant English and Welsh cases outside London go to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

England's camera powers for on-road parking are restricted; the presence of a camera does not authorise postal enforcement of every paid bay. The traffic order and signs govern the restriction, while the notice's legislation governs the procedure. Wales has separate regulations, and local-Act restrictions need their own check.

Parking Challenge Deadlines and the Council's Reply

A PCN served on the vehicle or driver normally allows 14 days at the discounted amount. Challenge promptly and check the council's policy on re-offering the discount. Do not assume that asking for photographs or reporting a machine fault pauses the PCN.

• A Notice to Owner normally gives 28 days beginning with service for formal representations. Use its reference and instructions even if the first challenge has already been sent.
• An English postal parking PCN normally gives 28 days beginning with service for formal representations. The discount is normally 21 days for an approved-device notice and 14 days for qualifying prevented-service or drive-away notices.
• For qualifying formal parking representations in England, the authority must serve its decision within 56 days of receipt. This statutory requirement does not turn every unanswered informal email into an accepted appeal.
• A formal Notice of Rejection normally gives 28 days beginning with service to appeal to the tribunal. Keep the rejection and submission confirmations so the dates can be established.

London Councils publishes borough parking penalties of £160 higher level and £110 lower level in Band A, and £140 and £90 in Band B. The applicable code, location and date determine the amount. TfL and authorities outside London have their own applicable charges; these borough amounts are not national rates.

Show the Kerb Profile, Vehicle Position and Access

• Photographs of the whole vehicle alongside the flat lowered section and sloping kerbstones.
• Context photographs showing the crossing, cycle access or driveway that the lowering serves.
• An occupier's statement and evidence that the residential driveway was not shared where consent is relied on.
• Loading records, authorisation or a timed account supporting another specific statutory exception.

A neighbour's permission does not authorise blocking a pedestrian crossing or shared access. The statutory test is not simply whether a wheel crossed the slope: the vehicle's full position and the section lowered to carriageway level matter. Do not assume every dipped or damaged kerb establishes the required purpose.

Which Lowered Section and Access Purpose Does the PCN Identify?

• The vehicle was not adjacent to the part lowered to carriageway level. Show the flat lowered section and any sloping transition stones alongside the whole vehicle, including an overhanging bumper.
• The feature did not serve one of section 86's specified access purposes. Explain its construction and surroundings with evidence; an assertion that nobody was using it at that moment is not enough.
• The vehicle was outside residential premises with the occupier's consent, not given for reward, and the driveway was not shared. Supply the occupier's confirmation and show that all conditions of this particular exception were met.
• The vehicle was wholly within an authorised parking place, or a different statutory exception applied. Necessary loading is allowed only where it could not reasonably be done without that position, took no longer than necessary and did not exceed 20 minutes.

Section 86 also addresses necessary boarding or alighting, unavoidable stops, qualifying emergency services and specified necessary works. Consent does not extend to a shared driveway, a public crossing point or an arrangement given for reward. A Blue Badge is not a blanket dropped-kerb exemption. England's signing exemption means that a yellow line, white advisory line or separate prohibition sign is not required solely to establish this statutory restriction.

What to Include in a Code 27 Challenge

Identify the lowered section and purpose first. If disputing the position, use photographs that include the bumper and flat kerb. If relying on residential consent or loading, address every condition of that exception rather than merely saying you had permission or were delivering.

Where to Send the Parking Challenge

Use the issuing authority's online PCN service or the postal address on the current notice. Include the PCN number, registration, street and a concise explanation connecting each ground to its evidence. Save the completed submission, attachments and acknowledgement.

For formal representations, select the applicable ground and explain it in your own factual account. A sale, qualifying hire agreement or vehicle taken without consent needs the relevant supporting records. Naming a different driver alone does not transfer ordinary council-PCN liability away from the owner.

After Rejection: Formal Representations and the Tribunal

An informal rejection leaves the option of formal representations if a Notice to Owner is served. A formal Notice of Rejection enables an independent tribunal appeal. Focus on the issue the council has not answered, whether that is a valid payment, a permitted activity, an unclear restriction or a procedural error.

If the adjudicator allows the appeal, the penalty is cancelled. If refused, follow the decision's payment instructions. Missing the payment or appeal deadline can lead to a 50% increase at Charge Certificate stage and later an Order for Recovery. These later notices have specific procedural remedies and should not be treated as another ordinary opportunity to dispute the parking event.