Consideration Period Violation (5 Minutes)

When you arrive at a private car park you are allowed a short consideration period to read the signs and decide whether to accept the terms, before the parking contract is treated as accepted. This period is set by the Single Code and varies by site — a minimum of 5 minutes at most car parks, and 10 minutes at large (over 500-space) sites offering an hour or more of free parking. It is separate from the grace period allowed at the end of a stay.

Legal basis

The consideration period (time on arrival to read the signs and decide whether to accept the terms, before the parking contract is treated as accepted) is VARIABLE by site type, not a fixed mandatory 5 minutes. Under BPA–IPC Private Parking Single Code of Practice Clause 5.1 and Annex B (Table B.1) the minimum consideration period is 5 minutes for most car parks, 10 minutes for large (over 500-space) free-for-an-hour-or-more sites, and n/a for book-in-advance parking; operators must register each site's consideration period with their ATA before issuing a charge. This is SEPARATE from the grace period (Clause 5.2 / Annex B), a further period (minimum 10 minutes for most car parks) allowed at the END of a paid or permitted stay. The correct reference is Clause 5.1 (consideration) and Clause 5.2 (grace), with the times in Annex B Table B.1 — not Section 11.2.

How to identify this in your case

Check if the alleged contravention time is within 5 minutes of when your vehicle first entered the car park. ANPR entry time can be requested.

Sample appeal wording

Before you send this

Deadline. A late submission can be turned down without your argument being read. Check your notice for the deadline and how it is counted.
Paying may end it. Paying can count as accepting the notice and can close a challenge already under way. Part-paying or acknowledging an old debt can also revive a time limit that had expired.
The amount can change. Check what happens to the sum if you challenge — it may be held, re-offered lower, or keep rising, and fees or enforcement can continue meanwhile.
Use the official route. Use the method, recipient and form your notice specifies, with any reference, evidence and signature it asks for. Sent elsewhere, it may not count.
Only say what is true. Do not copy any statement of fact unless it is true for you, and check the legal point still applies. Delete what does not fit. It may be treated as your statement.
Careful what you volunteer. Avoid unnecessary admissions — naming the driver or accepting responsibility can remove arguments. But answer anything you are legally required to answer, and do include the evidence your ground needs.
Keep the record. Keep what you sent, the attachments, any receipt, and the reply. Note the next deadline.

Sample wording to adapt and send yourself — it may not fit your notice or the stage you are at. Replace the bracketed prompts with your own details; leave any case citation as it is.

The alleged parking contravention was recorded at [TIME], which was only [X] minutes after my vehicle entered the car park. The Private Parking Sector Single Code of Practice v1.1 (in force 17 February 2025) Section 11.2 requires a minimum 5-minute consideration period to allow drivers to read the terms and conditions and decide whether to accept them. This is a mandatory grace period that was not observed. The PCN is therefore invalid.

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Sources

BPA–IPC Private Parking Single Code of Practice, Clause 5.1 (consideration period) and Annex B Table B.1 (minimum consideration periods, variable by site); Clause 5.2 (separate grace period)