Annual Parking Report 2025/26

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Foreword

Councillor Peter Griffiths, Lead Member Transport and Environment

I am pleased to introduce the Annual Parking Report for 2025/26. This report provides an overview of the work undertaken by the East Sussex County Council Parking Team during the year and highlights the services we deliver across our Civil Parking Enforcement areas.

Effective parking management helps keep roads safe, improves access to homes, businesses and services, supports the local economy and encourages more sustainable travel choices. It also helps reduce congestion and supports public transport.

During the year, we introduced enforcement at new bus lanes in Telscombe Cliffs and St Leonards, helping to improve journey reliability for bus passengers. We also continued parking reviews across the county and developed proposals for new permit schemes in areas where residents identified increasing parking pressures.

Our teams continued to provide a wide range of services, including issuing permits, responding to customer enquiries, considering appeals and carrying out parking reviews. This report also highlights examples of staff supporting vulnerable people and assisting emergency services when required.

The scale of the service is reflected in the figures contained within this report. During 2025/26, the team dealt with more than 35,000 customer contacts and processed over 1,150 Traffic Regulation Orders.

I would like to thank the Parking Team, our contractors and partner organisations for their continued dedication and professionalism throughout the year. I would also like to thank residents, businesses, councillors and community groups whose feedback and engagement help us continue to improve parking services across East Sussex.

I hope you find this report informative and that it provides a clear overview of the parking services we deliver and the benefits they bring to our communities.

News and updates from the parking team

Civil Parking Enforcement in East Sussex

You can find out more about CPE in East Sussex on our website.

Your parking team

The parking team is made up of over 70 people, split into six different areas. Each team deals with different aspects of the parking service we provide.

Enforcement

Known as Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs), this team are who you'll see out every day. CEOs check and enforce parking restrictions. Will report any problems with signs and lines. CEOs also help people that want directions or advice about parking.

Permits and customer service

The customer service team are the main contact for permits and most parking queries. They also work with Lewes District Council to issue permits for their car parks. The team have the most customer contact of any part of the parking team. With this goes a varied knowledge of most things parking related.

Business

The business team have the widest ranging role in the parking team. Some of the things they deal with are

scheme finances,
unusual permit queries,
complaints,
freedom of information requests,
some KPI monitoring, and
requests for new restrictions.

They carry out projects which identify improvements to the services the parking team provides. They are often the first point of contact for other teams within the council. The team draft responses to send to MPs and Councillors about all aspects of our parking service.

Notice processing

Notice processing officers deal with any challenges and appeals against Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs). They also issue PCNs to vehicles that drive in the bus lanes. Only a trained officer can consider a challenge or appeal against a PCN. No Councillor or MPs can intervene in the process.

The team make sure that each PCN is considered on its own merits. At every stage of the PCN process, a different officer will consider the case so that there is always an independent review of it.

Review

The review team prioritise the requests we receive for parking restrictions. For the requests that rank high enough, they develop proposals for consultation. They carry out two rounds of public consultation. After that, the proposals get reported to planning committee. Works orders are then issued to make all the approved changes. The review process takes 14 to 16 months from start to finish.

The team also deal with applications for disabled bays and access protection markings. All Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) made by the council go through the team. For example speed limits and road closures.

Contract monitoring

Contract monitoring is essential to managing our parking and street works contracts. Each has different Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) checked every month. Monthly meetings with each contractor take place. These are to discuss anything affecting the work of the contractor and any changes. They are also important for reviewing the contractors' performance against the KPIs.

Industry Champion Award

NSL won an award for their commitment to social value in East Sussex through the Connect to Work (C2W) programme. This is a free service that helps employers hire people who are ready and motivated to work.

Earlier this year, NSL took part in an interview to show how the C2W programme helps people. Annie McKinnon, Customer & Stakeholder Manager, and Angel Hunter, who joined NSL through C2W, shared their experiences. A short video was made to show the benefits of the programme for both employers and job seekers. It will be shown at local events to encourage more employers in East Sussex to take part. It will also be shared on:

Careers East Sussex website
Social media
Presentations and events

Certificate to acknowledge commitment of NSL to supporting careers education, employment and skills — Industry Champion certificate

Work Experience

We continue to offer work experience to local students. This can be for one day or up to a full week. In summer 2025, we welcomed two students from St Catherine’s College for a week. They gained useful skills and learned about the workplace.

We are also working more closely with schools and colleges to offer more placements in the future.

Age and Dementia Friendly

Over the past year, all staff completed Dementia Friends training. This training is now part of the induction for new starters. It helps staff understand dementia and feel more confident when supporting people with care and respect.

Mental Health First Aid

We continue to provide Mental Health First Aid training, and staff feedback has been very positive.

We now have trained Mental Health First Aiders across the organisation. This helps staff get support more easily when they need it.

Positive Community Feedback

ESC382 helped at a road accident. They stayed with the drivers, supported them, and spoke to the police.
ESC430 helped a young man who had been attacked and robbed. They made sure he was safe, called the police, and helped them find the suspect. The victim later thanked them.
ESC197 helped a bus driver during an incident with a drunk passenger. A member of the public later praised their professional approach and teamwork.
ESC482 helped a person who had fallen and hit their head. They called emergency services, stayed with him, and supported paramedics.
ESC468 helped a distressed woman who had fallen. They stayed with her, helped her sit down, and checked she was okay.
ESC473 was praised after visiting Ocklynge School on 21 January. They were described as friendly, polite, and helpful, and “a real credit to NSL and the council.”

Customer contact

The parking team is one of the busiest for customer contact in the Communities, Economy and Transport department. They dealt with over 35,000 customer contacts throughout the year.

This does not include permit applications or challenges, representations and appeals against PCNs. These figures are detailed in other parts of this report.

Over 200 of the contacts were from MPs or Councillors, 49 were freedom of information or subject access requests and only 17 were formal complaints.

Out of 10,365 properties we wrote to with details about a parking consultation, there were 1,013 responses.

1,150 traffic regulations orders were processed for all teams and departments in the council.

New bus lanes

In May 2025 we started enforcing the existing bus lanes in Telscombe Cliffs, Saltdean and Grand Parade, St Leonards. The aim is to increase the use of public transport and reduce congestion and traffic pollution. Both of these bus lanes operate 24 hours per day.

The Telscombe Cliffs (South Coast Road) bus lane allows for buses, cycles, motorcycles and taxis to use them at all times.

Grand Parade only allows buses and cycles to use them.

The enforcement of these bus lanes will use a digital camera system that records vehicles making use of the bus lanes. A PCN will be issued if an unauthorised vehicle enters the bus lane. More information about our bus lanes is on our website.

New permit schemes

Bexhill

In July 2025 we began an informal consultation on changes to the parking scheme in Rother, this included proposals for a new permit zone in Bexhill. Formal consultation on the proposed changes in Rother started in November 2025. The new permit zone was proposed at the request of many residents living in the area. The proposal was taken to Planning Committee in February 2026 where it was decided to install the new permit zone.

Eastbourne

In August 2025 we started the latest Eastbourne parking review. It included proposals for a new permit zone to address requests from many residents living within the proposed new zone. The Eastbourne informal parking consultation took place in January 2026.

Finances

Details of the income, expenditure and schemes that the parking funds supported are detailed in the tables below. This year the scheme did not make an operational surplus. After the payments and investments supported by the parking scheme, there was a deficit.

Income
Income type	2025/26
On street charges	£4,024,977
Off street charges	£80,462
Permits	£1,161,757
Penalty Charge Notices	£1,768,470
Bus lane Penalty Charge Notices	£239,681
Payments from Lewes DC	£314,632
Other income	£16,764
Total	£7,606,743

Expenditure
Expenditure type	2025/26
Enforcement contract	£2,954,811
ESCC staff (excluding review staff)	£777,496
Operational expenditure (non enforcement)	£1,188,160
Bus lane expenditure	£0
Supported bus network and concessionary fares	£2,686,276
Total	£7,606,743

Operational surplus or deficit
Operational surplus or deficit	2025/26
Surplus or Deficit	£0

Payments and investments supported by CPE surplus
Payments/Investments supported by CPE surplus	2025/26
Parking review costs (including ESCC review staff)	£368,155
Supported bus network and concessionary fares	£463,724
Total	£831,879

Net surplus or deficit
Net surplus or deficit for current year	2025/26
Net deficit	£831,879

Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs)

To make sure enforcement of the parking restrictions is fair and consistent, CEOs will issue a PCN to any vehicle that they see parked in contravention. The PCN is issued to the vehicle and not a person. In most cases, the CEO will not know who the owner or driver of the vehicle is, why it is parked in contravention, or where the driver has gone. More information about Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs) is on our website, along with our Parking guides that have more information about our parking schemes.

The number of PCNs issued increased in almost all our CPE schemes over the year. The only areas that saw a slight reduction in PCNs issued were Eastbourne (1,140 fewer) and Lewes County Hall Car Park (90 fewer), which may suggest higher compliance in these areas.

There were 57,056 PCNs issued for parking contraventions. 9,564 were issued to vehicles that drove in the bus lanes, this saw an increase across both Eastbourne bus lanes. The main reason for being much higher than last year was the introduction of the two new bus lanes in Telscombe and St Leonards.

PCNs issued by month for parking contraventions
PCNs issued by month	Eastbourne	Hastings	Lewes On Street	Lewes County Hall	Lewes District car parks	Rother

April	1,312	1,717	489	51	272	847
May	1,474	1,738	539	57	276	957
June	1,426	1,378	412	51	260	830
July	1,388	1,887	505	44	301	845
August	1,712	1,671	416	58	212	1,013
September	1,330	1,412	497	58	386	778
October	1,530	1,508	623	41	393	833
November	1,446	1,523	501	64	279	849
December	1,444	1,641	505	58	363	981
January	1,278	1,427	517	58	348	859
February	1,279	1,513	399	48	291	738
March	1,398	1,942	428	67	222	1,063
Total	17,017	19,357	5,831	655	3,603	10,593

PCN issued in Eastbourne by month line graph

PCN issues in Hastings by month line graph

PCN in Lewes district by month line graph

PCN issued in Rother by month line graph

PCNs issued by month for bus lane contraventions
Month	2025/26 Total	2025/26 Gildredge Road	2024/25 Gildredge Road	2025/26 Terminus Road	2024/25 Terminus Road	2025/26 South Coast Road	2025/26 Marine Parade
Apr-25	423	306	228	117	55	0	0
May-25	883	719	250	164	86	0	0
Jun-25	1,339	507	227	163	77	527	142
Jul-25	1,455	508	216	180	97	644	123
Aug-25	980	379	225	165	76	318	118
Sep-25	768	279	243	124	55	298	67
Oct-25	778	369	207	115	88	202	92
Nov-25	634	310	268	109	42	143	72
Dec-25	671	318	317	110	75	184	59
Jan-26	620	314	310	114	71	109	83
Feb-26	554	261	267	78	47	116	99
Mar-26	459	170	395	87	84	109	93
Total	9,564	4,440	3,153	1,526	853	2,650	948

PCNs issued by parking contravention code
Contravention	Code	2025/26 Total	2024/25 Total
Parked in a restricted street during prescribed hours	1	13,596	13,601
Parked or loading/unloading in a restricted street where waiting and loading/unloading restrictions are in force	2	3,159	3,100
Parked after the expiry of paid-for time	5	1,779	1,729
No valid ticket	6	2	3
Parked with payment made to extend the stay beyond initial time	7	0	0
Parked without payment of the parking charge	11	4,598	4,461
Parked without clearly displaying a valid pay-and-display ticket or permit	12	9,106	8,718
Parked in a permit space without displaying a valid permit	16	4,161	4,353
Displaying an invalid permit	19	1,135	1,205
Parked in a suspended bay/space or part of bay/space	21	136	137
Re-parked in the same parking place within the no return period	22	5	4
Parked in a parking place or area not designated for that class of vehicle	23	1,523	1,196
Not parked correctly within the markings of the bay or space	24	98	69
Parked in a loading place during restricted hours without loading	25	2,862	2,487
Parked 50cm or more from the kerb	26	96	88
Dropped footway (new contravention)	27	538	573
Parked on a raised verge	28	4	8
Parked longer than permitted	30	4,357	3,303
Parked in a designated disabled person's parking place without clearly displaying a valid disabled person’s badge	40	2,348	2,310
Parked in a Police space	42	16	35
Parked on a taxi rank	45	632	505
Stopped on a restricted bus stop/stand	47	1,187	824
Parked on a clearway	46	80	5
Parked on a school keep clear	48	340	459
Commercial vehicle in overnight waiting ban	55	12	5
Parked in contravention of commercial waiting	56	41	35
Parked on contravention of a bus ban	57	13	20
Parked on a footway / verge	62	780	809
Parked in an electric vehicle (EV) charging place during restricted hours without actively charging	71	100	0
Parked without payment of the parking charge (car park)	73	3,016	2,582
Overstayed paid-for time (car park)	80	129	60
Parked in a restricted area (car park)	81	22	26
Expired pay-and-display ticket (car park)	82	361	232
No pay-and-display ticket (car park)	83	3	10
Parked with payment made to extend the stay beyond initial time (car park)	84	0	0
No permit (car park)	85	332	358
Out-of-bay (car park)	86	143	128
Parked in a disabled bay without clearly displaying a valid disabled person’s badge (car park)	87	38	26
Parked while exceeding the maximum weight, height, or length permitted in that area	89	20	0
Area not designated for class of vehicle (car park)	91	94	81
Parked on a pedestrian crossing	99	194	188
Total		57,056	53,733

Eastbourne
Contravention	Code	Eastbourne 2025/26	Eastbourne 2024/25
Parked in a restricted street during prescribed hours	1	3,425	4,008
Parked or loading/unloading in a restricted street where waiting and loading/unloading restrictions are in force	2	1,645	1,761
Parked after the expiry of paid-for time	5	468	757
Parked without payment of the parking charge	11	447	566
Parked without clearly displaying a valid pay-and-display ticket or permit	12	4,125	4,409
Parked in a permit space without displaying a valid permit	16	1,407	1,417
Displaying an invalid permit	19	794	807
Parked in a suspended bay/space or part of bay/space	21	76	69
Re-parked in the same parking place within the no return period	22	0	2
Parked in a parking place or area not designated for that class of vehicle	23	735	599
Not parked correctly within the markings of the bay or space	24	12	14
Parked in a loading place during restricted hours without loading	25	792	844
Parked 50cm or more from the kerb	26	24	48
Dropped footway (new contravention)	27	247	293
Parked on a raised verge	28	2	0
Parked longer than permitted	30	1,167	883
Parked in a designated disabled person's parking place without clearly displaying a valid disabled person’s badge	40	714	735
Parked in a Police space	42	14	23
Parked on a taxi rank	45	229	241
Stopped on a restricted bus stop/stand	47	429	324
Parked on a school keep clear	48	92	178
Commercial vehicle in overnight waiting ban	55	12	5
Parked in contravention of commercial waiting	56	41	34
Parked on contravention of a bus ban	57	13	20
Parked on a footway / verge	62	51	60
Parked on a pedestrian crossing	99	56	60

Hastings
Contravention	Code	Hastings 2025/26	Hastings 2024/25
Parked in a restricted street during prescribed hours	1	6,144	5,884
Parked or loading/unloading in a restricted street where waiting and loading/unloading restrictions are in force	2	1,157	1,017
Parked after the expiry of paid-for time	5	680	516
No valid ticket	6	2	0
Parked without payment of the parking charge	11	2,086	1,577
Parked without clearly displaying a valid pay-and-display ticket or permit	12	3,244	2,758
Parked in a permit space without displaying a valid permit	16	8	2
Displaying an invalid permit	19	70	90
Parked in a suspended bay/space or part of bay/space	21	27	22
Parked in a parking place or area not designated for that class of vehicle	23	525	358
Not parked correctly within the markings of the bay or space	24	55	32
Parked in a loading place during restricted hours without loading	25	1,159	901
Parked 50cm or more from the kerb	26	56	30
Dropped footway (new contravention)	27	188	154
Parked on a raised verge	28	0	7
Parked longer than permitted	30	1,421	1,050
Parked in a designated disabled person's parking place without clearly displaying a valid disabled person’s badge	40	823	847
Parked in a Police space	42	2	12
Parked on a taxi rank	45	294	178
Stopped on a restricted bus stop/stand	47	507	331
Parked on a school keep clear	48	205	215
Parked in contravention of commercial waiting	56	0	1
Parked on a footway / verge	62	614	681
Parked on a pedestrian crossing	99	90	98

Lewes on street
Contravention	Code	Lewes 2025/26	Lewes 2024/25
Parked in a restricted street during prescribed hours	1	2,287	2,112
Parked or loading/unloading in a restricted street where waiting and loading/unloading restrictions are in force	2	212	191
Parked after the expiry of paid-for time	5	100	109
No valid ticket	6	0	3
Parked without payment of the parking charge	11	189	147
Parked without clearly displaying a valid pay-and-display ticket or permit	12	886	731
Parked in a permit space without displaying a valid permit	16	695	622
Displaying an invalid permit	19	260	306
Parked in a suspended bay/space or part of bay/space	21	24	41
Re-parked in the same parking place within the no return period	22	3	2
Parked in a parking place or area not designated for that class of vehicle	23	12	23
Not parked correctly within the markings of the bay or space	24	26	20
Parked in a loading place during restricted hours without loading	25	311	211
Parked 50cm or more from the kerb	26	7	5
Dropped footway (new contravention)	27	19	13
Parked on a raised verge	28	2	1
Parked longer than permitted	30	369	446
Parked in a designated disabled person's parking place without clearly displaying a valid disabled person’s badge	40	183	184
Parked on a taxi rank	45	72	51
Stopped on a restricted bus stop/stand	47	45	44
Parked on a school keep clear	48	7	25
Parked on a footway / verge	62	115	68
Parked on a pedestrian crossing	99	7	6

Lewes off street
Contravention	Code	Lewes 2025/26	Lewes 2024/25
Parked in an electric vehicle (EV) charging place during restricted hours without actively charging (car park)	71	100	n/a
Parked without payment of the parking charge (car park)	73	3,016	2,582
Overstayed paid-for time (car park)	80	129	60
Parked in a restricted area (car park)	81	22	26
Expired pay-and-display ticket (car park)	82	361	232
No pay-and-display ticket (car park)	83	3	10
No permit (car park)	85	332	358
Out-of-bay (car park)	86	143	128
Parked in a disabled bay without clearly displaying a valid disabled person’s badge (car park)	87	38	26
Parked while exceeding the maximum weight, height, or length permitted in that area	89	20	0
Area not designated for class of vehicle (car park)	91	94	81
Parked on a pedestrian crossing	99

Rother
Contravention	Code	Rother 2025/26	Rother 2024/25
Parked in a restricted street during prescribed hours	1	1,740	1,597
Parked or loading/unloading in a restricted street where waiting and loading/unloading restrictions are in force	2	145	131
Parked after the expiry of paid-for time	5	531	347
Parked without payment of the parking charge	11	1,876	2,171
Parked without clearly displaying a valid pay-and-display ticket or permit	12	851	820
Parked in a permit space without displaying a valid permit	16	2,051	2,312
Displaying an invalid permit	19	11	2
Parked in a suspended bay/space or part of bay/space	21	9	5
Re-parked in the same parking place within the no return period	22	2	0
Parked in a parking place or area not designated for that class of vehicle	23	251	216
Not parked correctly within the markings of the bay or space	24	5	3
Parked in a loading place during restricted hours without loading	25	600	531
Parked 50cm or more from the kerb	26	9	5
Dropped footway (new contravention)	27	84	113
Parked longer than permitted	30	1,400	924
Parked in a designated disabled person's parking place without clearly displaying a valid disabled person’s badge	40	628	544
Parked on a taxi rank	45	37	35
Stopped on a restricted bus stop/stand	47	206	125
Parked on a clearway	46	80	5
Parked on a school keep clear	48	36	41
Parked on a pedestrian crossing	99	41	24

Bus lane PCNs issued by contravention code

All our bus lane PCNs are issued using contravention code 34j - being in a bus lane.

Parking PCNs paid
	Eastbourne	Hastings	Lewes on street	Lewes off street	Rother	Total
Paid	13,263	13,890	5,015	3,692	8,649	44,509
At Discounted Rate (£25)	2,040	2,528	680	2,620	2,465	10,333
At Discounted Rate (£35)	8,501	8,406	3,363	434	4,457	25,161
At Full Rate (£50)	336	482	114	437	448	1,817
At Full Rate (£70)	1,451	1,454	557	49	727	4,238
After Charge Certificate (£75)	36	71	17	57	58	239
After Charge Certificate (£105)	196	180	59	6	92	533
After Registration (£85)	132	149	28	83	133	525
After Registration (£115)	571	620	197	6	269	1,663

Bus lane PCNs paid
	Gildredge Road	Terminus Road	South Coast Road	Grand Parade	Total
Paid	4,111	1,078	324	674	6,187
At Discounted Rate (£35)	3,801	989	269	620	5,679
At Full Rate (£70)	91	25	16	26	158
After Charge Certificate (£105)	89	33	24	11	157
After Registration (£115)	130	31	15	17	193

Parking PCNs challenged and appealed
	Eastbourne	Hastings	Lewes (On Street)	Lewes (Off Street)	Rother	Total
Number of PCNs issued	17,017	19,357	5,947	4,142	10,593	57,056
PCN related correspondence	3,256	3,178	1,696	903	2,046	11,079
(Challenged as % of issued)	19%	16%	29%	22%	19%	19%
PCNs upheld	2,266	2,512	1,367	551	1,597	8,293
(Upheld as % of challenged PCNs)	70%	79%	81%	61%	78%	75%
PCNs cancelled	990	666	329	354	449	2,788
(Cancelled as % of Challenged PCNs)	30%	21%	19%	39%	22%	25%
(Cancelled as % of Issued PCNs)	6%	3%	6%	8%	4%	5%

Outcomes of appeal to TPT
Outcome of PCN appeals to TPT	Eastbourne	Hastings	Lewes On Street	Lewes Off Street	Rother	Total
Appealed to Independent Adjudicator (TPT)	10	7	2	2	7	28
(Appealed as % of issued)	0.06%	0.04%	0.03%	0.05%	0.07%	0.05%
Dismissed (PCN upheld)	9	5	2	2	3	21
(Dismissed as % of appealed)	90%	71%	100%	100%	43%	75%
Not contested (PCN cancelled)	0	0	0	0	1	1
(Withdrawn as % of appealed)	0%	0%	0%	0%	14%	4%
Allowed (PCN cancelled)	1	2	0	0	3	6
(Accepted as % of appealed)	10%	29%	0%	0%	43%	21%
Hearing pending (PCN pending)	0	0	0	0	0	0
(Pending as % of appealed)	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%

PCNs cancelled by reason
PCNs cancelled by reason	Eastbourne	Hastings	Lewes on street	Lewes off street	Rother	Total
Adjudicators decision	0	1	0	0	3	4
Appeal not contested	0	0	0	0	0	0
Blue badge holder	117	88	36	20	94	355
Cashless or Virtual parking - error accepted	172	46	36	38	50	342
CEO error	120	104	68	56	63	411
Mitigating reasons	277	176	45	89	80	667
Emergency; gas, water or electric	7	13	9	0	5	34
Loading or unloading	58	53	34	0	28	173
Medical emergency	3	1	1	1	1	7
Meter fault	1	1	1	7	5	15
Missing, obscured lines or signs	8	9	10	1	12	40
Multiple PCNs, one contravention	32	45	22	15	28	142
Police vehicle	11	5	0	5	1	22
Processing or system error ESCC	38	15	5	1	6	65
Processing or system error NSL	7	14	7	4	7	39
Unforeseen delay	1	0	1	0	0	2
Valid pay and display ticket supplied	72	32	23	112	31	270
Valid permit held	34	24	16	1	15	90
Vehicle breakdown	32	39	15	4	20	110
Total	990	666	329	354	449	2788

Bus lane PCNs challenged and appealed
Bus lane challenge and appeal outcomes	Gildredge Road	Terminus Road	South Coast Road	Grand Parade	Total
Number of PCNs issued	4,440	1,526	2,650	948	9,564
PCN related correspondence	752	333	2,014	157	3,256
Challenged a % of issued	17%	22%	76%	17%	34%
PCNs Upheld	601	122	44	79	846
Upheld as a % of challenged PCNs	80%	37%	2%	50%	26%
PCNs cancelled	151	211	1,793	63	2,218
Cancelled as % of challenged PCNs	20%	63%	89%	40%	68%
Cancelled as % of issued PCNs	3%	14%	68%	7%	23%

Results of bus lane appeals to TPT
Outcome of PCN appeals to TPT	Gildredge Road	Terminus Road	South Coast Road	Grand Parade	Total
Appealed to independent adjudicator (TPT)	10	3	3	4	20
Appealed as % of issued	0.23%	0.20%	0.11%	0.42%	0.21%
Dismissed (PCN upheld)	8	2	1	2	13
Dismissed as % of appealed	80%	67%	33%	50%	65%
Not contested (PCN cancelled)	1	0	2	0	3
Withdrawn as % of appealed	10%	0%	67%	0	15%
Allowed (PCN cancelled)	1	1	0	2	4
Accepted as % of appealed	10%	33%	0%	50%	20%

Bus lane PCNs cancelled by reason
Outcome of PCN appeals to TPT	Gildredge Road	Terminus Road	South Coast Road	Grand Parade	Total
Adjudicators decision
Appeal not contested
Blue badge holder
Cashless or Virtual parking - error accepted
CEO error
Mitigating reasons	47	102	1706	20	1875
Emergency; gas, water or electric	1			1	2
Loading or unloading	2	20		5	27
Medical emergency			1		1
Meter fault
Missing, obscured lines or signs				2	2
Multiple PCNs, one contravention	2	1	5	4	12
Police vehicle
Processing or system error ESCC	25	9	34	15	83
Processing or system error NSL
Unforeseen delay
Valid pay and display ticket supplied
Vehicle breakdown	2		2	16	20
Double jeopardy	72	79	45		196
Total	151	211	1793	63	2,218

Permits

You can read more about the different types of permits available on our website. The following tables and charts show the numbers and types of permits issued.

Resident permits

We will usually issue up to two resident permits per residential address. There are two exceptions to this. The first is if there is a permit waiting list. The second are the permits zones of Rye, where because of limited amount of kerb space only one permit per address is available.

We calculate our permit to bay ratio based on 1.5 permits to each space in the permit zone. Once the number of permits issued reaches this limit a permit waiting list is put in place. You can see the number of spaces in each zone later in this report.

Eastbourne resident permits by zone column graph

Hastings resident permits by zone column graph

Lewes resident permits by zone column graph

Rother resident permits by zone column graph

All other types of permits 2025-2026

The tables below show the total number of permits issued this year for the most common permit types.

Eastbourne
Eastbourne permits issued by type	Total
Resident Visitor	39,920
Trade	4,836
Hotel	68,140
Primary Care Trust (PCT)	14,610
Business user	203
Doctor	14
Volunteer	76

Hastings
Hastings permits issued by type	Total
Resident Visitor	15,450
Business scratch cards	2,561
Business	9
Doctor	0
Primary Care Worker (PCW)	219

Lewes
Lewes permits issued by type	Total
Resident Visitor	32,570
Trade	1,248
Primary Care Trust (PCT)	3,930
County Hall West (CH)	117
County Hall East (CP)	108
Business	17

Rother
Rother permits issued by type	Total
Resident Visitor	37,510
Trade	1,144
Hotel	2,250
Primary Care Trust (PCT)	3,770
Business user	41
Doctor	1

Dispensations and all CPE area permits
Other types of permits or dispensations	Total
All CPE areas	105
Eastbourne	12
Hastings	35
Lewes on street	48
Lewes off street	73
Rother	162
Eastbourne and Hastings	3
Eastbourne and Lewes	108
Hastings and Rother	3
Emergency care worker permits	179

Parking spaces

The tables below show the numbers of spaces in our permit zones. The figures are approximate as bays are not individually marked. The numbers are based on a vehicle length of 5.5 metres.

Eastbourne

Eastbourne permit zones
Permit zone	Permit only spaces	Shared use spaces	Paid parking	Disabled bays	Loading bays
A	159	199	49	47	11
B	49	0	0	0	0
G	84	379	12	37	13
M	25	168	0	0	1
N	47	486	9	22	6
R	12	0	0	2	0
S	64	1,089	32	15	18
Total	440	2,321	102	123	49

Hastings

Hastings permit zones
Permit zone	Permit only spaces	Shared use spaces	Paid parking	Disabled bays	Loading bays
A	68	15	11	3	0
B	83	78	74	13	6
C	120	22	18	3	0
D	203	43	14	26	5
E	132	32	29	7	3
F	244	75	66	13	5
G	0	290	0	4	0
H	0	761	0	7	0
I	0	211	0	0	0
J	21	0	0	0	0
K	0	143	0	8	0
L	0	101	0	5	0
O	9	0	0	0	0
S	243	0	0	6	0
W	9	0	0	0	0
Total	1,132	1,771	212	95	19

Lewes

Lewes permit zones
Permit zone	Permit only spaces	Shared use spaces	Paid parking	Disabled bays	Loading bays
A	322	486	0	0	0
B	159	144	0	7	0
C	112	169	4	2	4
D	130	127	0	10	4
D and E	7	0	0	0	0
E	165	135	0	7	0
F	59	0	0	0	0
HS	58	19	21	8	4
Total	1,012	1,080	25	34	12

Rother

Rother permit zones
Permit zone	Permit only spaces	Shared use spaces	Paid parking	Disabled bays	Loading bays
Battle
D	2	46	0	1	0
Bexhill
C	401	496	121	50	14
E	20	537	185	13	0
N	159	561	0	14	0
W	345	363	179	10	0
Rye
A	29	0	0	0	0
B	9	0	0	0	0
Total	965	2,003	485	88	14

On street disabled bays

There are formal disabled parking spaces in each of the districts and boroughs. The figures below show the total number (including those in a permit zone) of formal disabled parking bays in each area.

Disabled bays in each district or borough
District or borough	Disabled spaces
Eastbourne Borough	123
Hastings Borough	95
Lewes District	34
Rother District	89
Total	341

In addition to these there are also advisory disabled bays and yellow lines that blue badge holders can use for parking.

More information about parking with a blue badge is on our website.

Lewes district off street car parks

We enforce the parking controls in car parks for those listed in the table below. The rules and charges are not set by us, they are set by the car park operator. Car park contact information is on our website.

The numbers of spaces shown below are the marked bays within the public car parks. For car parks that do not have individually marked bays the number of spaces is approximate.

Lewes district car parks
Car Park	Town	Spaces	Disabled spaces	Operated By
Anchor Field (Springett Lane)	Ringmer	38	3	Lewes District Council
Bastion Steps	Peacehaven	35	0	Lewes District Council
Bay Vue, Hill Crest Road	Newhaven	45	0	Lewes District Council
Buckle	Seaford	54	0	Lewes District Council
Buckle HGV	Seaford	12	0	Lewes District Council
South Street (South)	Lewes	5	0	Lewes District Council
Brook Street	Lewes	106	0	Lewes District Council
Cliffe High Street	Lewes	12	1	Lewes District Council
County Hall - West	Lewes	238	0	East Sussex County Council
County Hall - East	Lewes	106	5	East Sussex County Council
Dacre Road	Newhaven	148	14	Lewes District Council
Denton Island	Newhaven	57	5	Lewes District Council
East Street	Lewes	28	1	Lewes District Council
Fairlight Avenue	Telscombe	68	0	Lewes District Council
Friars Walk	Lewes	77	4	Lewes District Council
Friends Meeting House (staff only except for a disabled bay)	Lewes	n/a	1	East Sussex County Council
High and Over	Seaford	20	0	Lewes District Council and Seaford Town Council
Lewes District Council Offices (rear Fort Road - weekends only)	Newhaven	23	0	Lewes District Council
Little East Street	Lewes	31	1	Lewes District Council
Lower Place	Newhaven	44	4	Lewes District Council
Market Lane (weekend only, machine West Street)	Lewes	14	0	Lewes District Council
North Street	Lewes	45	3	Sussex Police
Phoenix Causeway	Lewes	97	4	Lewes District Council
Piddinghoe Avenue	Peacehaven	50	0	Lewes District Council
Pinwell Lane	Lewes	22	1	Lewes District Council
Richmond Road	Seaford	65	3	Lewes District Council
Roderick Avenue North	Peacehaven	28	2	Lewes District Council
Roderick Avenue South	Peacehaven	42	0	Lewes District Council
The Maltings	Lewes	27	0	Lewes District Council
Mountfield Road	Lewes	58	2	Lewes District Council
Saxon Lane	Seaford	41	2	Lewes District Council
South Hill Barn	Seaford	50	0	Lewes District Council and Seaford Town Council
South Street	Lewes	12	0	Lewes District Council
Spring Gardens	Lewes	20	0	Lewes District Council
Steyning Avenue	Peacehaven	63	0	Lewes District Council
Sutton Croft Lane	Seaford	16	0	Lewes District Council
Sutton Road/East Street	Seaford	42	2	Lewes District Council
The Esplanade	Seaford	150	2	Lewes District Council and Seaford Town Council
Village Centre	Barcombe	24	1	Lewes District Council
Village Hall	Ditchling	44	3	Lewes District Council
West Street	Lewes	48	2	Lewes District Council
Westgate Street	Lewes	25	1	Lewes District Council
West Street	Seaford	49	2	Lewes District Council
West Quay	Newhaven	42	5	Lewes District Council

There are other car parks in the district which are not included in the table, they are either not for members of the public to use or are privately owned or operated.

How can we help you?

Annual Parking Report 2025/26

Foreword

Councillor Peter Griffiths, Lead Member Transport and Environment

News and updates from the parking team

Civil Parking Enforcement in East Sussex