Tameside Metropolitan Code 25 PCN Appeal (2026)

1. What does Tameside Metropolitan Code 25 mean?

Code 25 alleges parking in a loading place during restricted hours without loading. It is not enough to say that the stop was short: the vehicle must satisfy the loading-bay conditions. Collecting a pre-ordered bulky item and browsing a shop before deciding what to buy are different activities, and a goods-vehicles-only bay adds a separate vehicle-class requirement.

Contravention

Code 25 alleges parking in a loading place during restricted hours without loading

Category

On-Street Parking PCNs

Issuing authority

Tameside Metropolitan 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

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

2. What must Tameside Metropolitan establish?

Read the loading sign's operating hours, any goods-vehicles-only wording and maximum stay. Other parking may be permitted outside loading hours, but only on the conditions shown.

Photograph the vehicle, bay limits and relevant sign together. Do not confuse permission to load in a loading bay with a kerbside loading ban.

• The vehicle must occupy an on-street loading place during the loading-only hours established by its order and signs.
• Assess whether goods were genuinely being collected, delivered, loaded or unloaded within the bay's conditions, rather than whether the stop was simply brief.
• Account for necessary activity inside premises or away from the vehicle. An observation with no visible movement does not alone answer a documented loading explanation.
• Check any vehicle-class and maximum-stay conditions separately. There is no universal observation allowance, and a Blue Badge does not itself authorise loading-only parking.

3. Grounds and exemptions for a Tameside Metropolitan Code 25 appeal

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

The parking order determines the permitted loading and any additional exceptions. Loading should take no longer than reasonably necessary; there is no universal observation period that every officer must wait before issuing a Code 25 PCN. A Blue Badge does not itself authorise a loading-only bay.

• Goods were being collected or delivered and the vehicle was reasonably needed for that activity. Describe the items, destination and handling required rather than attaching a receipt with no explanation.
• The officer saw no activity because you were inside completing a necessary part of the delivery, collection or handover. Supply a timed account covering the observed interval, including relevant paperwork or access arrangements.
• The bay's loading-only hours had not started or had ended, and your use met the conditions then in force. Photograph every time panel, including any permitted parking outside loading hours.
• The vehicle was in a different bay or the loading restriction was not adequately conveyed. Show the sign, arrows and bay boundaries together, and address any goods-vehicle or maximum-stay condition separately.
• 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 Tameside Metropolitan

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

• A delivery note, collection order or invoice identifying the goods, location and date.
• A recipient or shop statement confirming arrival, handover and any necessary delay.
• The loading-bay sign, including vehicle class, operating hours and maximum stay.
• The officer's observation times and photographs, compared with your dated timeline.

1. Follow the submission instructions on your current notice. The link below is Tameside Metropolitan'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 25 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 Tameside Metropolitan have to respond?

Tameside Metropolitan 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 Tameside Metropolitan rejects your representation

A formal Notice of Rejection explains Tameside Metropolitan'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 25 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 Tameside Metropolitan appeal to Traffic Penalty Tribunal

Traffic Penalty Tribunal is independent of Tameside Metropolitan. Use the registration instructions and verification details in the Notice of Rejection, upload your evidence and explain why the alleged Code 25 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 Tameside Metropolitan'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

85 of 284 recorded cases were allowed (29.9%).

Full Code 25 PCN Appeal Guide

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