One Londoner, a new resident of Newham, is under a more dire threat. She has racked up 19 penalty charge notices (PCNs), PCNs for driving into a restricted Healthy School Streets zone. She has a blue badge access permit, which allows her to drop children off and pick them up from school. She has been assessed a jaw-dropping £3,000 worth of fines.
Newham Council was the first in the country to roll out the Healthy School Streets programme. This pilot program limits vehicle access around schools during high-traffic school periods. These restrictions exist to protect students’ safety and minimize unnecessary traffic congestion near schools. The resident’s commute takes her into the restricted zone twice every weekday. As a result, she is swimming in weekly PCNs.
Even though she made it obvious to the council from the start that she was a blue badge holder, the fines kept adding up. With each of those appeals under review, new violation notices kept coming in the mail, further increasing her stress and financial burden.
The Warren resident said she was disappointed with the way council has treated the situation. She flagged up that she should have been exempt from the fines with her blue badge, but the system failed to recognize it. It’s designed precisely for scenarios like hers. Newham Council denied that any of the PCNs should be cancelled. This decision, she said, exposed an inexorable and callous way.
“In light of the circumstances, and to bring this matter to a fair conclusion, the council has taken the decision to cancel all of the PCNs issued in this case,” – Newham council spokesperson.
The council’s spokesperson acknowledged the resident’s plight and indicated that steps are underway to improve their procedures concerning courtesy permits.
“Steps are also being taken to strengthen our processes around courtesy permits to reduce the risk of similar issues occurring in future,” – Newham council spokesperson.
The resident’s insurer had to bring in three courtesy cars while her vehicle was out of circulation from the cumulative fines. This has compounded emotional toll on her family as she continues to make daily school runs with case appeals still in progress.