Cheltenham Code 74 PCN Appeal (2026)

1. What does Cheltenham Code 74 mean?

Code 74 concerns using a vehicle in a parking place in connection with selling, offering or exposing goods for sale where that is prohibited. A completed sale is not essential to every version of the allegation. Equally, the presence of a commercial vehicle does not by itself explain what prohibited activity occurred.

Contravention

Code 74 concerns using a vehicle in a parking place in connection with selling, offering or exposing goods for sale where that is prohibited

Category

Council Car Park PCNs

Issuing authority

Cheltenham Borough Council

Formal representation deadline

28 days beginning with service of the Notice to Owner or postal parking PCN.

Penalty and discount

Use the charge and discount printed on your PCN; the applicable amount depends on the notice and contravention date.

Initial discount

The initial 50% discount applies for 14 days beginning with PCN service, or 21 days for an approved-device postal parking PCN. An early challenge may lead to a renewed discount if rejected; check the council's policy and the amount and deadline in its reply.

Appeal route

Cheltenham, then Traffic Penalty Tribunal after a formal Notice of Rejection.

2. What must Cheltenham establish?

Look for the condition about selling, offering or displaying goods and compare it with the order's wording. A vehicle-class restriction or ordinary tariff board is not the same prohibition.

Include any temporary market or event notices. The absence of a completed sale does not answer a condition that also prohibits offering goods for sale.

• The parking-places order must prohibit the sale, offer or display of goods alleged at this location and time. Ordinary commercial parking is a different activity.
• The car-park conditions should communicate the trading restriction and any authorised market or event arrangement relevant to the occupied area.
• The evidence must connect the vehicle with the prohibited sales activity. Branding or carrying stock alone does not explain what sale or offer took place.
• Any trading consent must cover this site, date and activity. A general business licence or parking permit does not necessarily authorise sales from the space.

3. Grounds and exemptions for a Cheltenham Code 74 appeal

The statutory ground must match what happened. These code-specific points explain how to establish it.

A market allocation, event authorisation or other express consent may matter. A general trading licence or business parking permit does not necessarily permit sales in every council car park. Check who granted permission and which location it covered.

• The vehicle was not being used for the prohibited sales activity. Explain why it was parked and compare that account with the officer's notes, signs, goods or transactions relied on.
• The order did not prohibit the activity at that place and time. Ask for the particular provision and any distinction between ordinary parking, advertising, trading and an authorised market.
• A trading or event permission covered the activity. Supply the licence or written consent and show that it applied to this car park, vehicle, date and operating conditions.
• The restriction was not adequately conveyed or the evidence identifies the wrong activity or vehicle. Provide a wide view and the displayed conditions rather than accepting an unexplained description of a commercial van.
• The alleged parking contravention did not happen, including where a relevant exemption applied or the restriction was not adequately signed.
• You were not the owner at the relevant time: you never owned the vehicle, sold it before the event or acquired it afterwards.
• The vehicle was under someone else's control without the owner's consent at the time of the alleged contravention.
• You are a vehicle-hire firm and the vehicle was hired under a qualifying agreement with a signed statement accepting PCN liability. Supply the hirer's name and address.
• The authority is demanding more than the penalty legally applicable to this case.
• The authority failed to comply with a statutory requirement in imposing or recovering the penalty: a procedural impropriety.
• The traffic order relied on is invalid, except an order subject to Part 6 of Schedule 9 to the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.
• For a postal PCN relying on prevented service or a qualifying drive-away under regulation 10(2)(b) or (c), nobody prevented the officer from attaching or handing over the PCN. This is not the ground for an approved-device postal PCN.
• The enforcement notice should not have been served because the penalty was already paid in full, or at the valid discounted amount by the applicable deadline. Paying a parking tariff is different from paying the penalty.

4. How to make a formal representation to Cheltenham

For a parking PCN attached to the vehicle or handed to the driver, send an informal challenge to Cheltenham. Formal representations are made against the Notice to Owner, or directly against a postal parking PCN, within 28 days beginning with service. Respond to the formal notice even if an earlier informal challenge is unanswered.

The initial 50% discount applies for 14 days beginning with PCN service, or 21 days for an approved-device postal parking PCN. An early challenge may lead to a renewed discount if rejected; check the council's policy and the amount and deadline in its reply.

• The officer's notes and photographs of the activity alleged, including any sales display.
• The parking-order provision and site conditions about trading or offering goods.
• The relevant event booking, licence or written authorisation.
• Delivery, work or journey records explaining a different purpose for the vehicle's presence.

1. Follow the submission instructions on your current notice. The link below is Cheltenham's official parking information, not a verified submission form.
2. Check the issuing authority, PCN reference and vehicle registration on your current notice before choosing a challenge route.
3. Use the submission method and deadline stated on your current notice. Check that any online form is for the notice type and stage you have.
4. Keep a copy of your submission and attachments, and retain any acknowledgement or postal delivery record.
5. Explain which part of the Code 74 allegation you dispute. Include the PCN reference, vehicle registration, your address and copies of photographs or records supporting each point.
6. Save the full submission, attachments and dated acknowledgement.

5. How long does Cheltenham have to respond?

Cheltenham must serve its decision within 56 days beginning with receipt of qualifying formal representations. If it fails to comply, those representations are deemed accepted. This statutory period applies to formal representations, not an informal challenge or a request for photographs.

6. If Cheltenham rejects your representation

A formal Notice of Rejection explains Cheltenham's decision and how to appeal to Traffic Penalty Tribunal. You have 28 days beginning with service of that notice to pay or register your tribunal appeal.

Compare the reply with the Code 74 grounds and evidence you submitted. Identify any unanswered point, missing evidence or inconsistency between the restriction and the recorded event. Keep the rejection notice and the appeal details supplied with it.

An informal rejection is different: formal representations can be made if a Notice to Owner follows.

7. Taking your Cheltenham appeal to Traffic Penalty Tribunal

Traffic Penalty Tribunal is independent of Cheltenham. Use the registration instructions and verification details in the Notice of Rejection, upload your evidence and explain why the alleged Code 74 contravention or liability is disputed.

There is no fee to register the appeal. If it is refused, the full penalty is normally payable; an earlier discount does not automatically continue. If registering late, explain the delay so the adjudicator can decide whether to accept the appeal.

Read Cheltenham's evidence pack and respond to the points relevant to your case. Keep to the tribunal's directions and evidence deadlines.

2025 London Tribunals results: shared context

4,151 of 13,391 recorded cases were allowed (31.0%).

Full Code 74 PCN Appeal Guide

Read the detailed legislation, signage requirements, exemptions and case analysis for this contravention.