City council refunds motorists after bus lane cameras found to be invalid

Birmingham City Council has refunded more than £13,000 to motorists after a parking adjudicator found some of its bus lane enforcement cameras were invalid.

The dispute arose over the clarity of signage and no penalty charge notices (PCNs) were imposed as a result since 25 February, although these resumed on 1 July.

A report to a council scrutiny committee said: “The review of PCNs at the three locations, where signing was deemed inadequate in the opinion of the adjudicator covers those PCNs still in process, i.e. those that for any reason have not been paid, or that were paid following rejected representations.”

Some 514 cases were identified of which 281 did not meet the criteria for a refund.

A total of 218 charges have now been refunded, worth £13,179 in all. Nine cases are still being processed in which a further £247 will be refunded and six refunds totalling £360 have still to be made to owners of expired payment cards.

Tahir Ali, cabinet member for development, transport and the economy, said: “An independent adjudicator considered that signage at three sites in the city centre may have contributed to some motorists lack of certainty about these particular bus lanes.

“Over the past few months, additional and enhanced signage has been put in place to further highlight the bus lane restrictions. We have noticed that fewer motorists are encroaching on bus lanes, so hopefully the message is now clear.”

Mark Smulian