Council apologises to motorists and urges them to claim refunds for incorrectly issued parking penalties

• A parking investigation has revealed errors with a small number of Traffic Regulation Orders (TRO) in the borough
• The Council sincerely apologises for the errors and encourages drivers to claim reimbursement if they believe they received and paid a penalty charge notice relating to these specific areas
• Fresh consultation is due to take place to ensure enforceable TROs are in place in these areas

The Council is sincerely apologising and appealing to motorists who may have paid penalty charge notices (PCN) which were incorrectly issued for parking contraventions in certain parts of Reading.

The Council has discovered that the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) on sections of the East Reading Red Route and some parking restrictions in other locations are unenforceable. Drivers who have paid penalties for parking on them will therefore be reimbursed.

A total of 6,136 PCNs were incorrectly issued and paid primarily between July 2018 and 2024, however, some date back to 2013. The Council is asking motorists who believe they received and paid a penalty to visit the Council’s website from Wednesday 16 October to claim their reimbursement.

For those motorists that have been subject incorrectly to a debt recovery process, the Council will contact individuals directly informing them that they are eligible for repayments with interest and advising how the repayment will be made.

Jackie Yates, Chief Executive of Reading Borough Council, said:

“I sincerely apologise to all motorists and residents who have been affected by these errors and urge them to visit the Council’s website so that we can reimburse them.

“We have made the reimbursement process as easy as possible for people who have been wrongly issued with penalty charge notices, whilst ensuring we have appropriate verification checks in place.

“Parking enforcement action was suspended as soon as the Council became aware of the specific TRO issues and further action is being taken to ensure that the circumstances which led to this situation don't happen again.

“On behalf of the council, I sincerely apologise to motorists for the distress and inconvenience caused.”

Motorists who believe they have been incorrectly issued with a PCN can claim a refund via the Council’s website from Wednesday 16 October following agreement of the Scheme by Council on Tuesday 15 October.

The Council’s website page will have full details of the information needed as well as maps showing the areas affected and some frequently asked questions.

Providing claim forms are complete, we expect refunds with interest to be paid within 28 days.

The errors in the various Traffic Regulation Orders came to light when a member of staff reported to their service manager a defect on the East Reading Red Route.

A wider investigation was then launched to review whether there were further issues with TROs and a small number were found to be incorrect.

There are five TRO areas where motorists were incorrectly issued with PCNs. Errors were found on a further four but these did not impact motorists in the same way. A report seeking approval for statutory consultation to correct all nine TRO areas -will also be presented to Council on Tuesday 15 October.

Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) are legal orders made under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, which provide the legal backing for the enforcement of road and traffic management schemes such as speed limits, vehicle restrictions and parking controls.