Part of Vehicle Within 50cm of the Kerb — No Contravention
The double-parking offence in section 85(1) only occurs when NO part of the vehicle is within 50 centimetres of the edge of the carriageway. If any part — a wheel, wing mirror line, bumper corner — was within half a metre of the kerb edge, there is no contravention. Enforcement officers almost never measure; their photographs rarely prove the whole vehicle sat more than 50cm out, and the burden of proving that is on the council.
Legal basis
Traffic Management Act 2004 s.85(1): 'a vehicle must not be parked on the carriageway in such a way that no part of the vehicle is within 50 centimetres of the edge of the carriageway'; burden of proving the contravention rests on the enforcing authority
How to identify this in your case
Look at the council's photos: do they show any measurement, or a clear plan view proving every part of your car was more than 50cm from the kerb edge? Was your car angled so that one corner or wheel came close to the kerb? If you are still at the scene, photograph the closest part of the vehicle to the kerb with a visible reference for scale.
Sample appeal wording
formal
Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.
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