Hastings Code 61 PCN Appeal (2026)

1. What does Hastings Code 61 mean?

Section 19 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 prohibits heavy commercial vehicles from parking wholly or partly on a road's verge, footway or specified land between carriageways. Section 20 defines the relevant goods vehicle by an operating weight exceeding 7.5 tonnes, using maximum laden weights and combination rules. It is not simply the load aboard when the officer arrives. Code 61 is distinct from an ordinary car's London footway-parking PCN.

Contravention

Section 19 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 prohibits heavy commercial vehicles from parking wholly or partly on a road's verge, footway or specified land between carriageways

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?

This statutory heavy-vehicle prohibition does not depend on a yellow line or a local no-parking plate. Record the surface and carriageway boundary as well as the vehicle and trailer weight plates.

Do not assume a sign allowing ordinary vehicles partly onto the footway removes the separate heavy-vehicle prohibition. Code 61 has its own legal test and exceptions.

• The vehicle must be a heavy commercial vehicle under section 20 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, with an operating weight exceeding 7.5 tonnes under its maximum-laden-weight and combination rules.
• The evidence must show it parked wholly or partly on a road verge, footway or qualifying land between carriageways. The vehicle's size alone does not establish the prohibited position.
• Loading on a verge or footway must be necessary because it could not satisfactorily be performed without parking there, and the vehicle must remain attended throughout.
• That loading exception does not extend to central-reservation land merely because unloading is convenient. Uniformed-police permission and qualifying emergencies have separate statutory conditions.

3. Grounds and exemptions for a Hastings Code 61 appeal

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

The section 19 loading exception covers a verge or footway, not a general right to unload on a central reservation. It does not contain the 20-minute allowance found in some other parking provisions. Remaining nearby is not enough if the vehicle was in fact left unattended; explain the actual supervision and activity.

• The vehicle does not meet section 20: supply the maximum laden weight and, where applicable, the articulated vehicle or trailer-combination calculation. A large appearance or an unloaded weight estimate is not the statutory test.
• The alleged position is not established: photographs must place the vehicle wholly or partly on the relevant verge, footway or land between carriageways. Mark the carriageway boundary and explain any misleading angle.
• Loading on a verge or footway was unavoidable: section 19 requires that it could not satisfactorily have been done without parking there and that the vehicle was not left unattended at any time. Identify who attended it and why a lawful alternative position was unsuitable.
• Police permission or an emergency applied: provide the instruction from a constable in uniform or the circumstances of saving life, extinguishing a fire or meeting a comparable emergency. Ordinary delivery pressure is not that exception.
• 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.

• The vehicle and trailer weight plates, registration records and the maximum laden-weight calculation relevant to section 20.
• Clear photographs showing wheels, kerb, verge or central-reservation boundaries and the officer's exact location.
• Delivery records describing the goods, access constraints, start and finish times and the person continuously attending the vehicle.
• Any police instruction, emergency incident reference, recovery report or contemporaneous witness account.

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 61 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 61 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 61 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

319 of 1,141 recorded cases were allowed (28.0%).

Full Code 61 PCN Appeal Guide

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