Hastings Code 02 PCN Appeal (2026)

1. What does Hastings Code 02 mean?

Code 02 concerns waiting or loading where both waiting and loading restrictions were in force. A single yellow line and a single kerb mark can operate at different times. Double yellow lines restrict waiting throughout the day, but the loading ban still needs to be identified. DfT guidance explains the kerb marks and associated signs, including arrangements in restricted parking zones.

Contravention

Code 02 concerns waiting or loading where both waiting and loading restrictions were in force

Category

On-Street Parking PCNs

Issuing authority

Hastings 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

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

2. What must Hastings establish?

Yellow lines convey waiting restrictions; yellow kerb marks convey loading restrictions. Read a part-time loading ban's days, hours and arrows separately from the waiting plate. Double kerb marks normally indicate an all-time loading ban.

Check any restricted parking zone entrance before relying on missing lines or kerb marks. Photograph the whole arrangement and the vehicle's position, not just one sign panel.

• Both the waiting restriction and the loading restriction must cover the vehicle's position and operate at the alleged time under the applicable order.
• The signing must convey the loading ban as well as the waiting restriction. Their operating hours need not be the same.
• Ordinary loading or unloading does not excuse a stop during an active loading ban, and a Blue Badge does not override that ban.
• Necessary passenger boarding or alighting, an unavoidable stop or another claimed exception must be assessed separately against the order and the actual activity.

3. Grounds and exemptions for a Hastings Code 02 appeal

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

Necessary boarding or alighting is different from loading goods, and a no-waiting restriction is different from a no-stopping restriction. A Blue Badge does not permit parking during an active loading ban. Emergency work or an unavoidable breakdown needs its own facts and the relevant exception; a brief delivery does not become exempt simply because the driver stayed nearby.

• The loading restriction did not operate at the PCN time. Photograph the entire plate, including days, hours and arrows, and distinguish it from the waiting restriction above it.
• The vehicle was outside the length covered by the loading ban. Show its position relative to the kerb marks and the sign's directional arrows; a close-up of the plate alone may not establish where the restriction starts.
• The restriction was not adequately conveyed. Explain the actual missing, obscured or contradictory information. Check any restricted-zone entry signs before arguing that absent yellow lines or kerb marks alone invalidate the PCN.
• The stop was necessary to set down or collect a passenger, including evidenced assistance, or resulted from circumstances beyond the driver's control. Give the duration and activity and check the applicable order. Ordinary loading is not an answer to an active loading ban.
• 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 Hastings

For a parking PCN attached to the vehicle or handed to the driver, send an informal challenge to Hastings. 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.

• Wide photographs locating the vehicle beside the relevant kerb marks and signs.
• The complete loading plate, including any arrow, time change or event-day condition.
• The council's photographs and observation notes showing the recorded activity and times.
• A passenger-assistance statement, breakdown record or other document explaining a claimed exception.

1. Follow the submission instructions on your current notice. The link below is Hastings'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 02 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 Hastings have to respond?

Hastings 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 Hastings rejects your representation

A formal Notice of Rejection explains Hastings'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 02 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 Hastings appeal to Traffic Penalty Tribunal

Traffic Penalty Tribunal is independent of Hastings. Use the registration instructions and verification details in the Notice of Rejection, upload your evidence and explain why the alleged Code 02 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 Hastings'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

160 of 557 recorded cases were allowed (28.7%).

Full Code 02 PCN Appeal Guide

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