legends · 4 min read ·
Driveway Appeal
A parking appeal reveals that two houses on one street are the same house, and the penalty is for the car that is not his.
**Penalty Charge Notice — Appeal Form (Ref PCN-44190-Q)**
**Appellant:** Gordon Reeve · **Vehicle:** silver hatchback, reg. on file · **Contravention:** Parked across a dropped kerb, unauthorised vehicle crossover
**Grounds of appeal:**
I was not parked across a dropped kerb. I was parked on my own driveway, which I have used for 22 years. The driveway is at 14 Hobb Terrace. The council's photograph shows a vehicle on a different driveway, at number 16, which I have never owned and cannot see from my front window.
I have enclosed my own photographs. They show the front of my house, the garage, and the driveway, with my car on it.
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**Council reviewer's note (Enforcement Officer, S. Dacre)**
Photographs enclosed by appellant are noted. The vehicle in the appellant's photographs is parked at 14 Hobb Terrace. The council's evidence photograph, taken at 07:12 on 11 October, shows the same vehicle at the same position, on a driveway that does not exist on the council's map.
The map shows a grass verge at 16 Hobb Terrace. The verge has been recorded as grass since 1994.
Please note: the council's photograph also shows a second figure standing on the verge, looking towards the house. The figure is wearing the appellant's dressing gown.
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**Appellant's supplementary statement**
I don't know how the photograph was taken. I was in bed at 07:12. My wife left for work at 07:00 and she says the car was in the garage then, because she had to reverse out of the drive and the car was blocking the path. Since then, I've been trying to get the car out, and I can't. The garage door stays shut, and when I open the front door I can see the car on the drive, and when I go outside it's gone, and the verge is wet with dew, and my footprints lead to the gate and stop there, and there's a second set going the other way.
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**Council site visit report (Enforcement Officer, S. Dacre, 19 Oct)**
Visited 14 Hobb Terrace and 16 Hobb Terrace. Two houses, same design, different numbers. The house at 14 has a driveway, a garage, and a silver hatchback parked on the drive. The house at 16 has a grass verge.
I took a photograph of the hatchback. It's not in the photo. The drive is empty. The garage door at 14 is open. Inside the garage, there's a second hatchback, the same model, same colour, same registration plate.
The registration on the second car is correct. I checked it against the vehicle registry record. The vehicle registry record shows one vehicle at this address, registered to the appellant.
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**Appeal decision (Council, 22 Oct)**
Appeal refused. The council is satisfied the vehicle was parked at 16 Hobb Terrace, on an unauthorised crossover, at the time recorded.
*Note on the decision: appellant's photographs show the car at number 14. The council's enforcement team has reviewed the boundary survey and confirmed the properties are on a single plot. Numbers 14 and 16 are the same house.*
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**Letter from appellant (received 24 Oct)**
*Dear Sir or Madam,*
*I have now spent four nights in the front room because I can't sleep in the bedroom. My wife is upstairs. I can hear her moving about, and I can hear her opening the wardrobe, and I can hear the car outside, idling, though I've checked and the car is in the garage, and so am I.*
*The council has told me that the penalty is valid. The council has also told me I live at 16 Hobb Terrace. My wife has started calling me by the other name. She says it's a joke. She says I've always been a bit of a comedian about the verge.*
*Please send the next letter to the other address. I'm not sure which one I'll be at.*
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**Council note on file (27 Oct)**
Penalty of £70 has been issued in relation to PCN-44190-Q. Vehicle: silver hatchback, parked across a dropped kerb at 16 Hobb Terrace. Payment is due within 28 days.
*Officer's comment: a second vehicle is recorded as having been parked on the same kerb at 07:12 on the same date, registered to the appellant at 14 Hobb Terrace. The second vehicle is not the appellant's, but the appellant has been asked to pay for it anyway.*