Annual Parking Report 2022/23

Foreword

Welcome to the Annual Parking Report for 2022/23, along with the financial information and detail of our permit schemes across the four Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) areas in the County. This year’s report aims to give a further insight into some of the other important work the team does and some information you may not know about the legislation, how our reviews work and what you should do if you do get a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN).

The team has introduced camera enforcement to two bus lanes in Eastbourne in conjunction with the town improvement plan. The first review of parking restrictions in Rother District since the introduction of CPE has started and over 1,200 requests for new or changes to parking restrictions have been received. The Parking Service also supported partners at events across the county including the Lewes and Hastings Bonfire night celebrations.

I hope you find our report helpful and informative.


The Parking Team

The team are responsible for managing the four CPE areas across the County in Eastbourne and Hastings Boroughs and Lewes and Rother Districts. The team is made up of four sub teams. Their responsibilities include managing the enforcement contract, notice processing, contract monitoring, customer care and the review of existing and development of new parking schemes.

Notice Processing Team

There are seven notice processing officers in the team and one principal officer.

The notice processing team’s main duties include:

  • Investigating and responding to challenges/representations received after a PCN has been issued
  • Compiling evidence and attending hearings at the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT)
  • Dealing with enquiries regarding Enforcement Agents where a warrant has been issued because a PCN hasn’t been paid
  • Reviewing footage from bus lane cameras and issuing PCN’s where unauthorised vehicles have been seen using them
  • Transferring liability where vehicle ownership has been proven

The notice processing team work closely with all other members of the parking team as well as our enforcement contractor, NSL.

The challenges they receive are wide and varied and most require some kind of further investigation to be able to reach a decision.

One day they may be getting evidence ready for a hearing they have at TPT, the next they may be dealing with enforcements agents that have clamped or removed someone’s vehicle in the process of recovering a PCN debt. Below is what a day may look like in the life of a Notice Processing Officer.

A day in my life as a notice processing officer

I normally get into the office at around 8am. A few of my work colleagues are already there, as well as members of some of the other teams that work for East Sussex County Council.

I get settled, catch up on what everyone has been doing while I’m logging in to all the systems I need to be working with today. The case management system we use, Taranto, which is where all Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) that have been issued are stored. I can see all the details about the PCN here. When it was issued, why it was issued, where it was issued, any notes the Civil Enforcement Officer (CEO) may have added to the case as well as all the photographs that have been taken when the PCN was issued. Here is where I spend most of my time. Any challenges made against PCNs are added to the case and I can view the challenge made as well as any evidence that may have been provided by the customer.

I also log in to NSL Apply which is the permit system used in East Sussex. Here I have access to check to see what permits are valid and who they have been issued to and what vehicles they cover. The first case I deal with is someone who says they have a permit to park in this street but were still issued a PCN. They have a permit for this zone so I’ll need to check on Taranto to see why the PCN was issued. I check the photos, check why the PCN was issued and I see what’s happened, they do have a permit for this area but they’ve mistakenly parked in a bay that is pay and display only.

The phone rings, I have a customer on the line that wants to know what’s going on with the challenge they’ve made, they haven’t heard anything since they sent it in. After taking some details and doing a quick check I can confirm to them that we have received their challenge and the case is currently on hold until we look at it and make a decision or ask for further evidence. We will then respond back to them with the outcome. We receive on average 20 phone calls a day.

The next case I deal with is someone who says they parked in a pay and display bay and they paid via RingGo, our cashless parking system, but still received a PCN. Checking the case on Taranto everything looks like the PCN was issued correctly. The CEO has checked on his handheld computer to see if this vehicle had a virtual parking session but found nothing. They’re definitely parked in a pay and display bay, I log into our pay by phone provider RingGo to check this one. Once logged in to the back office system for RingGo and doing a quick search I can see what has happened, the owner has entered the VRM for their vehicle but instead of the letter O has entered a number 0. They have not received any PCNs prior to this, I explain what has happened in the response and cancel the PCN on this occasion.

After working through some more challenges and then having my lunch break I go back to more challenges. Someone has received a PCN because they parked in a disabled bay but left their blue badge in the glovebox. They’ve supplied a copy of the badge which allows me to check with the blue badge team that the badge is valid and that’s another case dealt with. Whilst dealing with this challenge I get an email from my manager, a new case has come into the Traffic Penalty Tribunal and it’s been allocated to me. This means I need to dedicate some of my time over the next few days to get all the evidence uploaded on to their system, check what the appellant says and write a submission of my own. Then I’ll wait to be told what type of hearing there will be, I will attend the hearing to present evidence on behalf of East Sussex County Council to the adjudicator. I deal with a few more cases, check some letters that my colleagues are sending out that day to make sure everything is OK with them and it’s almost time to finish.

Review Team

We are continually reviewing our parking schemes to make sure they meet the changing needs of local communities. A parking review is carried out in each of our four civil parking areas every 16 to 18 months. In each review we consider requests for new controls and requests for changes to existing controls.

There are nine members of the team: six officers, two assistants and one principal officer. Some of the main tasks the team are responsible for are shown below.

  • Making, drafting and advertising Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs).
  • Entering TROs, sign and machine data onto our visual database, ParkMap, and keeping it up to date.
  • For carrying out our parking consultations.
  • Applications for disabled bays.
  • Applications for access protection markings.

This information is used by the notice processing officers when considering challenges against penalty charge notices.

The review officers liaise closely with other departments; planning, highways, traffic and safety and legal to assist them with up-to-date maps and information on our parking restrictions. They also offer advice to various departments on the practicality of enforcement and help identify what restrictions are appropriate to achieve the desired goals.

Contract Monitoring Team

We have one contract monitoring officer in the team. The officer is responsible for the following:

Monitoring the performance of the parking enforcement contract by measuring Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and managing meetings on a monthly basis. 

Managing defect reports relating to signage to ensure enforceability of the scheme in conjunction with the streetworks contractor, and monitoring their performance by way of monthly meetings.

They also manage implementation of the works orders for the parking reviews, coordinating the lining work and installation of street furniture for any new or changes to existing restrictions.

Part of their role also includes the maintenance of our on street pay and display machines, ordering parts and compiling tariff and programming updates for Pay and Display machines and RingGo locations during parking review implementation works.

They liaise with various bodies including the boroughs and districts about car park works and events such as Lewes Bonfire.

Business Team

There are four business officers within the team and one principal officer. The business team deal with all other aspects of managing and operating our parking schemes, below are a few examples.

  • Finances and budget monitoring.
  • Key Performance Indicator (KPI) monitoring.
  • Freedom of information requests.
  • Responding to customer contact that is not a challenge against a PCN or a response to an open parking consultation.
  • Provide advice and draft responses for senior managers and Council Members about parking matters.
  • Provide parking advice and help to other teams and departments within the Council and it’s contractors.

The business team support all areas of the parking team and have a wide knowledge covering all aspects of our parking service. This puts them in the unique position of being the only members of the team that can cover all the roles across the wider team. This is helpful in cases of staff absences, or high levels of workflow, to provide support and business continuity for the whole team.

The business team are usually the first point of contact for help, advice and support for other members of the team. Also for other departments within the council. They give support and advice to senior members of the council and draft responses for them about all aspects of the services we provide.

As many of our customers contacts cover different aspects of transport services, the team liaise closely with several other departments, these are most often the transport development control, highway and traffic and safety teams. They also work closely with the finance, corporate complaint, and freedom of information teams.

The team also carry out projects in relation to making sure our parking schemes are efficient and to improve the services we provide.

NSL

Whilst we manage the parking schemes across our CPE areas, we outsource a large part of our parking service to NSL to provide customer service, permits, enforcement and pay and display machine maintenance. The NSL team are split into four main areas.

Customer and Stakeholder Managers (CSMs)

There are three CSMs that manage the four CPE areas. The CSMs deal with all aspects of the successful running of each site, below are a few examples of their responsibilities.

  • Managing the team of CEOs, SCEOs and Supervisors.
  • Managing the customer service team and permit service.
  • Networking with Stakeholders to ensure they are fully conversant and prepared for major events such as Lewes Bonfire and Eastbourne Airbourne. Discussing problem parking areas and looking at ways to resolve issues.
  • Investigating complaints.
  • Daily management of KPIs.

The CSMs support all operational areas within the East Sussex parking contract and are crucial in the smooth delivery of our contractual requirements.

Enforcement Team

Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs) are supported by a team of Senior CEOs and Supervisors. Examples of some of the main responsibilities of a CEO are listed below:

  • Patrol streets and car parks, to check regulations are being followed
  • Give advice to the public on parking regulations and facilities
  • Check parking tickets and permits
  • Issue Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) to vehicles parked in contravention

Whilst the above is the main part of the role of a CEO it is not unusual for them to be approached by members of the public for issues not relating to parking.

These include:

  • Helping with directions
  • Finding where someone has parked
  • Finding lost dogs
  • Helping children that have locked themselves out of their home
  • Contacting emergency services
  • Assisting people when they have needed it most

Pay and display machine maintenance team

There are three pay and display engineers who are responsible for management of the machines around the county. See below some of the responsibilities they have.

  • Respond to customer reports of machines not working and visiting the machine to correct any faults.
  • General cleaning of the machines including removing any graffiti.
  • Ensuring batteries are charged and changing batteries when required.
  • Escalating faults to the machine provider for faults that cannot be fixed by the engineers.

The engineers are a crucial part of the parking team who assist in keeping machines up and running and reporting any vandalism.

Customer Service Team

There are six people in the customer service team including a team supervisor. The team are the first point of contact for most customers. Some of their main duties are listed below.

  • Answering parking, PCN and permit enquiries in a quick and efficient manner, this can be via calls or e-mail.
  • Dealing with and approving parking permits for the on-street parking in Eastbourne, Lewes, Hastings and Rother.
  • Issuing permits on behalf of Lewes District Council for their car parks.
  • Making sure all the relevant documentation for types of permit applications is provided, including suspensions and waivers.
  • Work closely with CSM’s and enforcement teams with monitoring the use of permits.

The customer service team deliver a high standard of service which is reflected in our customer feedback.


Bus Lanes

Bus lanes are enforced for a number of reasons, these include to increase the reliability of bus services in the area and improve journey times for bus passengers. This in turn encourages the use of public transport, cutting down on traffic pollution and congestion.

We introduced two bus lanes in Eastbourne town centre which we started to enforce in September 2022. Prior to enforcement commencing we rolled out a warning notice period. During this time, any unauthorised vehicles that entered the bus lane were sent a notice to the address of the registered keeper warning them of the bus lanes to avoid further contraventions occurring.

The locations of these bus lanes are Gildredge Road and a stretch of Terminus Road, both in Eastbourne town centre. These bus lanes are separate to other lanes of traffic on the road and their boundaries are marked with a solid white line and the words `bus lane` on the ground along each lane. Signs are in place prior to the start of the bus lanes at both locations to warn motorists as they approach. These signs are also repeated along the stretch of Gildredge Road to further give warning to vehicles that may turn onto this stretch from one of the side roads.

Enforcement is intended to keep these bus lanes clear for bus use so the services can run to their specified time frames.

Only buses and cycles are allowed to use the bus lane in Gildredge Road.   Only buses are allowed to use the bus lane in Terminus Road, with an exception for taxis from the hours of midnight till 5am.

The charge for driving in a bus lane is £70, reduced to £35 if paid within 21 days.


The life of a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN)

You may find yourself walking back to your car one day only to find a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) attached to your windscreen.

  • Why has this been issued?
  • Doesn’t the Civil Enforcement Officer (CEO) know I’ve just popped into the bank?
  • I left a note in my windscreen saying where I am, and no one came to find me?
  • I paid for a virtual parking session, and I’ve still received a PCN?

These may be some of the questions whizzing through your mind? In this section we will explain the process of why a PCN has been issued as well as what happens if you ignore one and how to make a challenge.

A Civil Enforcement Officer (CEO) is required to issue a PCN to any vehicle they see that is contravening the parking restrictions in place there. The CEO will enter some details into their Hand-Held Computer (HHC). These include the vehicle registration number of the vehicle, the location where it’s parked, what make and colour the vehicle is, as well as what the contravention code is of the restriction parked on. The CEO will also check the vehicle for any permit, pay and display ticket, blue badge or note that may be on display. If a pay and display ticket or permit is virtual this can be checked on the CEO’s HHC.

Most parking restrictions (but not all) require an observation period before a PCN can be issued. If the motorist returns to the vehicle before this observation period has finished, they will still have the opportunity to move the vehicle without a PCN being issued. There are some restrictions that do not require an observation period. These include being parked in a bus stop, on a school keep clear marking, in a disabled bay with no blue badge, or parked on yellow lines where there are loading restrictions in place.

It’s important to note that there are some details the CEO will not know. These include who the vehicle belongs to, where they may be, why they’ve parked where they’ve parked or even what kind of day they might be having. Please keep these in mind if speaking with one of our CEOs.

If your vehicle has been issued a PCN you have a right to make a challenge against it. This has to be done in writing, no challenge can be taken over the phone. You can make your challenge online through our website or via email. You can also make a written challenge and post it to us, or complete a challenge form at one of our local libraries. If making a challenge, give us as much information as possible explaining why the vehicle was parked where it was and why you think that the PCN should be cancelled. Please include any evidence you think is relevant to your challenge. This may include receipts for goods, medical notes, pay and display tickets or anything that might help us understand why you were parked there.

The most important thing is not to ignore a PCN! If not paid or challenged the PCN will progress and the charge will increase.

If you want to pay the PCN you can do this at the reduced amount of 50% of the charge if paid within 14 days. This will be £25 or £35 depending on the contravention. After 14 days the charge will increase to the full amount of £50 or £70.

After 28 days a Notice to Owner will be posted to the registered keeper allowing a further 28 days to pay the full amount.

If not paid or challenged after this, a Charge Certificate will be issued which increases the charge by a further 50% which must be paid within 14 days. (Either £75 or £105). At this point there is no further opportunity to challenge or appeal the PCN.

If the PCN is still not paid, then an Order for Recovery will be made to register the debt at Northampton County Court (also known as the Traffic Enforcement Centre, TEC) which increases the amount by a further £9. (Either £84 or £114).

If it is still not paid at this stage, this could lead to a warrant being issued to an Enforcement Agent. This will mean further charges being applied and action taken to recover the debt.

So again, please do not ignore a PCN!


What is a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) and why are they important?

TROs are legal documents that are important to manage traffic flow, speed limits and where you can park. They are made to control or restrict the use of the highway for all users including pedestrians and they aim to improve road safety and access to facilities. TROs are either temporary, permanent, experimental, or minor. They are made in line with The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. There are two other important pieces of legislation for traffic orders.

  1. The Traffic management Act 2004 covers enforcement.
  2. The Local Authorities' Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996 describes the procedures needed to propose and introduce new traffic orders and amendments to existing ones.

TRO’s can be used to specify parking restrictions and other conditions under which vehicles may park and they can be enforced by law. The process of making a TRO must go through a specific legal process before it can be sealed and become enforceable, those stages are summarised below.

  • A notice, called an Intention Notice, is published in the local newspaper circulating in the area to which the order relates, and in the roads affected.
  • Full consultation with statutory consultees is undertaken.
  • All associated documents are held on deposit at the district, borough or county council and at a local library. Documents are also displayed on East Sussex Highways website.
  • Members of the public have 21 days from the publishing of the Intention Notice to comment or object to the scheme.
  • If objections are received a decision is then made by the Planning Committee on how to proceed.
  • If no objections are received the order can be sealed and a Has Made Notice published.
  • The Has Made Notice must contain the date the order will come in to force, and if someone wishes to challenge the validity of the order how this can be done.
  • All orders must be sealed within two years from when the Intention Notice was originally published. If it is not the scheme will need to be re-advertised and whole process restarted.

 

The majority of the TROs we make are either permanent or temporary. Temporary TROs are used when there are scheduled short term works such as resurfacing or utility works. For most other changes permanent TROs are used, some examples of these changes are shown below.

  • Permit parking schemes.
  • Speed limits.
  • Weight restrictions.
  • Yellow lines.

 

During the period from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023, we processed 18 permanent TROs and 653 temporary TRO. 1386 Public Notices were advertised alongside the TROs.


Customer contact

In total across the entire parking team, excluding challenges and appeals against PCNs, we dealt with 30,263 customer contacts in 2022-23. Of those contacts, 45 were freedom of information requests and 16 were formal complaints.

As described earlier in the report the parking team is split into different areas to manage the different aspects of the service we provide. The following information about customer contact is split between the customer service, business and review teams. Contact with the notice processing team about PCNs is covered separately. 

Customer service and enforcement teams

Contact with the team
Type of enquiry Total
Permits 4,678
Request for enforcement 1,411
All other customer contact 17,798

Business Team customer contacts

Contact with the team
Type of enquiry Total
MP and Councillor 199
FOI Requests 45
Complaints 16
General enquiries 302

Review Team customer contacts

Contact with the team
Type of enquiry Total
MP and Councillor 14
General enquiries 305
Parking consultations
Consultations Eastbourne Hastings Lewes Rother Total
Online review requests received 141 99 112 124 476
Consultation packs sent or delivered 6,086 2,680 771 15,734 25,271
Responses to consultation 255 337 130 2,450 3,172
Access protection marking and disabled parking bay applications
Type of application Total
APMs 118
DBs 123
Traffic Regulation Orders(TROs)
Type of TRO Total
Temporary TROs 653
Permanent TROs 16
Experimental TROs 1
Public Notices 1,386

Notice Processing Team customer contacts

The notice processing team received 10,761 challenges and appeals against parking PCNs and 1,025 for bus lane PCNs.

More information about the PCNs issued and the outcomes of the challenges and appeals can be found in the next part of this report.


Penalty Charge Notices

The total number of PCNs issued in 2022/23 is up on the previous year, a contributing factor to this could be the increase in people’s movement and return to normality following the Covid pandemic.

Eastbourne

Eastbourne PCNs issued by month
PCNs issued by month 2022/23 2021/22
April 1,204 826
May 1,283 1,068
June 1,125 1,243
July 1,482 1,242
August 1,513 1,400
September 1,173 1,183
October 1,291 1,062
November 1,311 1,046
December 1,292 1,045
January 1,119 949
February 1,168 1,051
March 1,122 1,048
Total 15,083 13,163

Hastings

Hastings PCNs issued by month
PCNs issued by month 2022/23 2021/22
April 1,223 875
May 1,206 824
June 1,044 614
July 1,091 594
August 1,168 918
September 1,166 819
October 1,382 985
November 1,101 803
December 969 727
January 1,247 828
February 1,188 841
March 1,175 938
Total 13,960 9,766

Lewes

Lewes on street PCNs issued by month
 PCNs issued by month 2022/23 2021/22
April 679 512
May 575 587
June 500 544
July 567 629
August 540 599
September 579 670
October 620 580
November 606 576
December 513 711
January 657 637
February 534 558
March 589 651
Total 6,959 7,254

Rother

Rother PCNs issued by month
PCNs issued by month   2022/23 2021/22
April 709 782
May 647 886
June 574 528
July 867 566
August 923 778
September 665 622
October 780 557
November 673 475
December 679 302
January 786 504
February 728 509
March 718 648
Total 8,749 7,157

Off Street (car parks)

Lewes off street (car park) PCNs issued by month
PCNs issued by month   County Hall 2022/23 County Hall 2021/22 Lewes District car parks 2022/23 Lewes District car parks 2021/22
April 71 0 289 201
May 88 0 241 212
June 92 0 286 235
July 71 0 275 284
August 49 0 234 303
September 47 62 283 338
October 64 59 231 281
November 48 11 144 255
December 53 39 146 241
January 45 25 181 299
February 11 32 225 262
March 37 28 308 331
Total 676 256 2,843 3,242

Bus lanes

Bus lane PCNs issued by month and location in 2022/23
Bus lane PCNs by month Total Gildredge Road Terminus Road
April 0 0 0
May 0 0 0
June 0 0 0
July 0 0 0
August 0 0 0
September 776 542 234
October 814 571 243
November 574 468 106
December 591 508 83
January 515 446 69
February 344 275 69
March 329 269 60
Total 3,943 3,079 864

Parking PCNs issued by contravention code

All PCNs issued by contravention code and location
Contravention Code Eastbourne 2022/23 Hastings 2022/23 Lewes 2022/23 Rother 2022/23 2022/23 Total
Parked in a restricted street during prescribed hours 1 3,135 4,454 2,172 1,874 11,635
Parked or loading/unloading in a restricted street where waiting and loading/unloading restrictions are in force 2 1,240 811 246 72 2,369
Parked after the expiry of paid-for time 5 689 432 233 283 1,637
No valid ticket 6 0 1 0   1
Parked with payment made to extend the stay beyond initial time 7 1 0 0   1
Parked without payment of the parking charge 11 652 1,850 277 1,717 4,496
Parked without clearly displaying a valid pay-and-display ticket or permit 12 3,386 2,293 874 236 6,789
Parked in a permit space without displaying a valid permit 16 1,327 6 796 1,942 4,071
Displaying an invalid permit 19 858 72 461 25 1,416
Parked in a suspended bay/space or part of bay/space 21 104 65 358 30 557
Re-parked in the same parking place within the no return period 22 1 0 2 1 4
Parked in a parking place or area not designated for that class of vehicle 23 611 398 22 337 1,368
Not parked correctly within the markings of the bay or space 24 20 14 27 4 65
Parked in a loading place during restricted hours without loading 25 644 608 221 304 1,777
Parked 50 cm or more from the kerb 26 38 20 11 3 72
Dropped footway (new contravention) 27 221 100 52 80 453
Parked on a raised verge 28 0 1     1
Parked longer than permitted 30 764 897 649 947 3,257
Parked in a designated disabled person's parking place without clearly displaying a valid disabled person’s badge 40 611 627 222 464 1,924
Parked in a Police space 42 13 2   0 15
Parked on a taxi rank 45 174 288 85 27 574
Stopped on a restricted bus stop/stand 47 282 360 47 165 854
Parked on a clearway 46       194 194
Parked on a school keep clear 48 198 63 15 10 286
Commercial vehicle in overnight waiting ban 55 1       1
Parked in contravention of commercial waiting 56 3       3
Parked on contravention of a bus ban 57     1    
Parked on a footway / verge 62 45 525 183 2 755
Parked without payment of the parking charge (car park) 73     2,540   2,540
Overstayed paid-for time (car park) 80     26   26
Parked in a restricted area (car park) 81     85   85
Expired pay-and-display ticket (car park) 82     371   371
No pay-and-display ticket (car park) 83     7   7
Parked with payment made to extend the stay beyond initial time (car park) 84     1   1
No permit (car park) 85     286   286
Out-of-bay (car park) 86     99   99
Parked in a disabled bay without clearly displaying a valid disabled person’s badge (car park) 87     42   42
Area not designated for class of vehicle (car park) 91     62   62
Parked on a pedestrian crossing 99 65 73 5 32 175
Total   15,083 13,960 10,478 8,749 48,269
PCNs paid by location and stage
Summary of PCN outcomes Eastbourne Hastings Lewes (On Street) Lewes (Off Street) Rother Total
Paid 10,092 6,842 5,792 3,028 5,573 31,327
At Discounted Rate (£25) 1,787 1,210 1,165 2,229 1,150 7,541
At Discounted Rate (£35) 6,477 4,044 3,562 323 3,503 17,909
At Full Rate (£50) 319 281 201 324 241 1,366
At Full Rate (£70) 1,000 831 562 51 414 2,858
After Charge Certificate (£75) 37 38 33 41 22 171
After Charge Certificate (£105) 133 145 92 5 61 436
After debt registration (£84) 75 70 53 49 62 309
After debt registration (£114) 264 223 124 6 120 737
Bus lane PCNs paid by location and stage
Bus lane PCNs paid Gildredge Road Terminus Road Total
Paid 2,526 554 3,080
At Discounted Rate (£25) 0 0 0
At Discounted Rate (£35) 2,265 449 2,714
At Full Rate (£50) 0 0 0
At Full Rate (£70) 112 24 136
After Charge Certificate (£75) 0 0 0
After Charge Certificate (£105) 77 45 122
After Registration (£84) 0 0 0
After Registration (£114) 72 36 108

Challenges and appeals

Out of the 48,270 PCNs issued for parking contraventions we received 10,761 challenges and appeals against them.

  • 31,327 were paid
  • 2,782 were cancelled
  • 125 were written off
  • 14, 036 are still open
  • 28 were appealed to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT)

Parking PCNs cancelled by reason

Parking PCNs cancelled by location and reason
PCNs cancelled by reason Eastbourne Hastings Lewes on street Lewes off street Rother Total
Adjudicators decision   5   4   0   0 1   10
Blue badge holder 91 65 61 6 82 305
Cashless or Virtual parking - error accepted 189 84 72 74 66 485
CEO error 72 113 73 26 65 349
Mitigating reasons 320 128 118 115 144 825
Emergency; gas, water or electric  14 13 9 0 4 40
Loading or unloading 29 40 27 1 26 123
Medical emergency   3 0 1 1 5
Meter fault 8 7 8 7 2 32
Missing, obscured lines or signs 8 8 3 2 3 24
Multiple PCNs, one contravention 27 25 20 3 12 87
Police vehicle 10 2 0 0 0 12
Processing or system error ESCC 26 9 2 4 7 48
Processing or system error NSL 4 8 18 2 4 36
Unforeseen delay 1 0 0 0 0 1
Valid pay and display ticket supplied 60 18 21 79 39 217
Valid permit held 51 1 4 10 5 71
Vehicle breakdown 27 54 6 3 14 104
Total 945 584 444 334 475 2782

Bus lane PCNs challenged and appealed

Out of the 3,943 PCNs issued for entering a bus lane, we received 1,025 challenges and appeals against them.

  • 3,080 were paid
  • 139 were cancelled
  • 0 were written off
  • 724 are still open
  • 14 were appealed to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT)
Bus lane PCNs cancelled by reason
Bus lane PCNs cancelled by reason Gildredge Road Terminus Road Total
Adjudicators decision   5 1   6
Mitigating reasons 52 49 101
Emergency; gas, water or electric  0 1 1
Loading or unloading 0 7 7
Police vehicle 1 1 2
Processing or system error ESCC 10 10 20
Processing or system error NSL 2 1 3
Vehicle breakdown 1 0 1
Total 69 70 139

Appeals to the Traffic and Penalty Tribunal (TPT)

Outcome of appeals made to TPT for parking PCNs
Appealed to Independent Adjudicator (TPT) 12 6 3 2 5 28
Dismissed (PCN upheld) 5 1 3 1 4 14
Not contested (PCN cancelled) 2 1 0 1 0 4
Allowed (PCN cancelled) 5 4 0 0 1 10
Outcome of appeals made to TPT for bus lane PCNs
Bus lane challenge and appeal outcomes Gildredge Road Terminus Road Total
Appealed to Independent Adjudicator (TPT) 13 1 14
Dismissed (PCN upheld) 5 0 5
Not contested (PCN cancelled) 3 0 3
Allowed (PCN cancelled) 5 1 6

Permits

We have a range of permits available within our parking schemes. These help us to balance the conflicting needs of different types of motorists. Applicants for permits must meet specific criteria to be eligible for a permit. For anyone that is not eligible for a permit, pay and display, time limited bays or car parks are available. More information about the permits we offer is available on our website. 

Eastbourne permits

2,677 resident permits were issued in Eastbourne.

Pie chart showing resident permits issued by zone.
All other types of permits issued in Eastbourne
Eastbourne permits issued by type Apr-22 May-22 Jun-22 Jul-22 Aug-22 Sep-22 Oct-22 Nov-22 Dec-22 Jan-23 Feb-23 Mar-23 Total
Resident Visitor 3360 4190 3990 3560 5060 3640 3140 3240 4660 4680 5120 3460 48100
Trade 753 621 477 791 661 449 625 329 317 515 475 617 6630
Hotel 5160 8430 9300 7570 9510 5850 6620 4000 2950 4620 5120 4600 73730
Primary Care Trust (PCT) 820 810 1610 1360 1470 900 710 750 1430 900 410 1190 12360
Business user 13 26 3 19 18 14 18 24 19 19 27 11 211
Doctor 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 11 14
Volunteer (Eastbourne only) 1 7 7 6 0 34 8 10 0 13 3 6 95

Hastings permits

3,280 resident permits were issued in Hastings borough.

Pie chart showing resident permits issued by zone
All other types of permits issued in Hastings
Hastings permits issued by type Apr-22 May-22 Jun-22 Jul-22 Aug-22 Sep-22 Oct-22 Nov-22 Dec-22 Jan-23 Feb-23 Mar-23 Total
Resident Visitor 1396 1514 1482 1575 1643 1283 1402 1550 1553 1183 1381 1298 17260
Business scratch cards 116 301 246 221 205 162 117 119 118 192 170 158 2125
Business 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 3 0 8
Doctor 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Primary Care Worker (PCW) 9 6 54 31 8 17 6 12 5 3 10 12 173

Lewes permits

2,318 resident permits were issued in Lewes and Falmer.

Pie chart showing resident permits issued by zone
All other types of permit issued in Lewes
Lewes permits issued by type Apr-22 May-22 Jun-22 Jul-22 Aug-22 Sep-22 Oct-22 Nov-22 Dec-22 Jan-23 Feb-23 Mar-23 Total
Resident Visitor 2140 2890 2380 2430 3120 2450 2690 2890 2610 2890 2660 1960 31110
Trade 50 120 265 151 151 70 120 160 75 190 225 155 1732
Hotel 0 0 0 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 30
Primary Care Trust (PCT) 100 200 40 120 880 400 300 270 200 440 480 460 3890
County Hall West (CH) 0 25 16 10 13 10 21 9 13 9 10 21 157
County Hall East (CP) 0 16 11 11 15 20 21 18 8 16 10 15 161
Business 2 0 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 10

Rother permits

2,804 resident permits were issued in Rother district.

Pie chart showing permits issued by zone
All other types of permits issued in Rother district
Rother permits issued by type Apr-22 May-22 Jun-22 Jul-22 Aug-22 Sep-22 Oct-22 Nov-22 Dec-22 Jan-23 Feb-23 Mar-23 Total
Resident Visitor 3230 3010 3150 3020 3420 2690 2250 3140 2130 2770 2220 3360 34390
Trade 96 123 95 129 170 230 279 50 77 68 65 181 1563
Hotel 310 300 0 30 130 260 0 100 50 0 100 100 1380
Primary Care Trust (PCT) 360 1360 3400 70 330 0 230 30 2200 30 70 110 8190
Business user 3 6 2 2 2 11 6 4 6 3 1 5 51
Doctor 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 3

Dispensations

These can be issued for vehicles or activities which are not covered by a parking permit or national exemptions. 

Dispensations issued by area
Other types of permits or dispensations Total
All CPE areas 83
Eastbourne 2
Hastings 15
Lewes on street 7
Lewes off street 18
Rother 5
Eastbourne and Hastings 1
Eastbourne and Lewes 50
Hastings and Rother 3
Emergency care worker permits 123

Finance

The total income from our Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) schemes in 2022/23 was £6,807,239. Details of the income, expenditure, and the schemes supported by the surplus are below.

Income from CPE schemes
Income all areas 2022/23 £ 2021/22 £
On street charge 3,764,629 3,626,146
Off street charge 68,681 48,173
Permit income 963,848 959,367
Penalty Charge Notices 1,599,323 1,364,460
Bus lane Penalty Charge Notices 114,739  
Payments from Other Local Authorities 290,567 283,874
Other income 5,452 7,159
Total 6,807,239 6,289,179
Expenditure of CPE schemes
Expenditure all areas 2022/23 £ 2021/22 £
Enforcement contract 2,343,492 2,196,931
ESCC Staff 633,151 655,471
Operational Expenditure (non enforcement) 1,253,734 1,173,534
Bus lane expenditure 21,569  
Payments to Other Local Authorities 82,172 89,112
Supported bus network and concessionary fares 1,885,086 1,630,000
Total 6,219,205 5,745,048
Overall surplus for the CPE schemes
Over all surplus all areas 2022/23 £ 2021/22 £
Operational Surplus/(Deficit) 588,034 544,131
Payments and investments supported by the CPE surplus
Payments and investments 2022/23 £ 2021/22 £
Parking Review 191,042 153,827
Approved by parking board 25,600 0
County Hall 13,183   
Real Time Bus Information 156,084 0
Total Payment and investments 385,909 153,827
Net Surplus/(Deficit) 202,125 390,304

Parking spaces within our parking zones

Eastbourne
Zone Number of permit only spaces Number of shared use spaces Number of pay and display only spaces Number of disabled spaces Number of loading bays
A 155 198 49 41 13
B 46 0      
G 83 378 15 31 16
J 7 0  0 1  
M 25 168  0 1
N 44 496 9 24 6
R 12 0   2  
S 78 1208 36 18 26
Total 450 2448 109 117 62
Hastings
Zone Number of permit only spaces Number of shared use spaces Number of pay and display only spaces Number of disabled spaces Number of loading bays
A 62 14 0 3 0
B 97 45 71 9 3
C 106 0 36 3 0
D 201 44 14 21 5
E 118 0 54 7 3
F 261 72 48 13 6
G 0 269 0 5 0
H 0 534 0 8 0
I 0 157 11 1 0
J 19 0 0 0 0
K 0 135 0 6 0
L 0 101 0 0 0
O 8 0 0 0 0
S 197 0 0 6 0
W 8 0 0 0 0
Total 1077 1371 234 82 17
Lewes
Zone Number of permit only spaces Number of shared use spaces Number of pay and display only spaces Number of disabled spaces Number of loading bays
A 393 417 0 0 0
B 135 151 0 4 0
C 106 169 4 2 4
D 119 124 0 9 3
D and E 7 0 0 0 0
E 171 137 0 6 0
F 59 0 0 0 0
HS 38 43 33 9 4
Total 1028 1041 37 30 11
Rother
Zones Number of permit only spaces Number of shared use spaces Number of pay and display only spaces Number of disabled spaces Number of time limited only bays
Battle          
D 0 51 0 0 0
Bexhill          
C 259 304 77 39 97
E 0 744 0 18 0
N 0 607 0 11 0
W 272 54 0 3 0
Rye          
A 29 0 0 0 0
B 9 0 0 0 0
Total 569 1760 77 71 97