Tesco Hove parking penalty

wanderingalong

I have a POPLA appeal regarding a parking penalty from Tesco Hove - could experts please comment on it before I submit ?

26th January 2026

POPLA Code: XXX

Parking Charge Reference: XXX

The entry signage at Tesco Hove car park is totally inadequate to alert people to the changes in restrictions. Horizon is in breach of the BPA Code of Practice regarding signage. That Code still applies to signage in 2025 and this site fails to comply.

I am a very occasional user of this car park and recalled that there was a 3 hour parking limit. Apparently, Horizon changed the restrictions in August 2025. Two material changes were made with little or no warning and I understand that many shoppers received PCNs in the first few weeks of implementation.

I have since found out that when Horizon took over from APCOA they changed the free parking time from 3 hours to 2 hours, introduced a minimum spend in Tesco of £5 and reintroduced the 'validate your VRM' system, which had been suspended since 2020.

I recall that Tesco tills at this store previously printed out a 'validation slip' after each receipt but they were not needed.

Nothing appeared to be any different when I made a cash purchase of some groceries when I visited the store on 24th October. No prominent signs (instore or by the entrance) informed me about the new parking changes. There were always VRM kiosks beside the trolley bays but they hadn’t been used for a long time. I finished my shopping and drove home after ~40 minutes.

If Horizon contest this appeal and show images of their VRM kiosks, these were unremarkable as drivers had no way of knowing that they were back in use and customers were required to use them.

People were used to ignoring the VRM requirement and it was well known that the only rule that applied was the 3 hours maximum stay. When Horizon took over parking management they also completely removed the entrance sign that gave parking information on Miles Walk.

On the 24th October (my first visit to the store in at least six months) there were no entrance signs at all, in breach of the CoP at Appendix B which says'A standard form of entrance sign must be placed at the entrance to the parking area.'

Presumably Horizon or its agents removed the large old sign APCOA had in place and did not replace it. There was a complete lack of new entry signs telling drivers about the changes on their approach to the parking area. Also, I saw no parking information at the shop entrance .

This is also in breach of BPA CoP clause 19.10 'Material change – notices'.

They will also be in breach of any landowner agreement which no doubt requires Horizon to comply with the BPA CoP. Please could you provide me with a copy of the landowner authority which Tesco produce for this POPLA appeal.

Here is what the entrance used to look like when APCOA ran this car park (image from Google Streetview), which shows where the entrance sign (blue, on the right) used to be:

By the 24th October, there was no entrance sign.  Horizon had removed the original sign and had not replaced it by “the date of breach”.

The drivers view of the car park without signage.

On the 18th November - two more photos showing the entrance roadway as seen by a driver approaching along the private road (Miles Walk). Still no entrance signage:

I believe that the operator does not have proprietary interest in the land and request that they produce an unredacted copy of the contract with the landowner.

The contract and any 'site agreement' or 'User Manual' setting out details - such as any 'genuine customer' or 'genuine resident' exemptions or any site occupier's 'right of veto' charge cancellation rights, and of course all enforcement dates/times/days, and the boundary of the site - is key evidence to define what this operator is authorised to do, and when/where.

Had Horizon made their operation known to the public by providing sufficient notices at the entry to the car park, there would be fewer customers shopping there without validating their stay.

On Monday 26th January I noticed that a small sign had been put on a lamp post nearest the junction of Miles Walk with Church Road, opposite the Tesco store. It is high up on a lamp post, 46m from the zebra crossing at the entrance to the car park and 20m from the junction with Church Road. I am sure this sign was NOT present on the 24th September 2025., the “date of breach”.

This sign is inadequate - too small and high up to be readable by the driver of a car turning into Miles Walk from Church Road who would be more concerned about pedestrians on the pavement as they turned into Miles Walk. I attach a photo for your information. Opposite the sign is a “pick up and drop off” area that would distract attention from reading the sign.

This small sign on the lamp post, unreadable from a car turning into Miles Walk from Church Road does not meet the requirements of Annex A of the SINGLE CODE OF PRACTICE regarding Entry Signs.

.

I respectfully request that POPLA reject this charge and uphold my appeal on the grounds of the missing entrance signage detailed above. Thank you for considering my appeal.

XXXX

28 January 2026

Many Thanks

Gr1pr

Definitely NOT a Penalty , just a pcn, an invoice

Don't ask for evidence, put them to strict proof by way of evidence ( popla get what they are given. )

Study other recent cases on here at the same location

wanderingalong

Here's my final draft - need to send it tomorrow.


XXXXXXXXX

Brighton XXX 28th January 2026

POPLA Code: XXX

Parking Charge Reference: XXX0

The entry signage at Tesco Hove car park is totally inadequate to alert people to the changes in restrictions. Horizon is in breach of the BPA Code of Practice regarding signage. That Code still applies to signage in 2025 and this site fails to comply.

I am a very occasional user of this car park and recalled that there was a 3 hour parking limit. Apparently, Horizon changed the restrictions in August 2025. Two material changes were made with little or no warning and I understand that many shoppers received PCNs in the first few weeks of implementation.

I have since found out that when Horizon took over from APCOA they changed the free parking time from 3 hours to 2 hours, introduced a minimum spend in Tesco of £5 and reintroduced the 'validate your VRM' system, which had been suspended since 2020.

I recall that Tesco tills at this store previously printed out a 'validation slip' after each receipt but they were not needed.

Nothing appeared to be any different when I made a cash purchase of some groceries when I visited the store on 24th October. No prominent signs (instore or by the entrance) informed me about the new parking changes. There were NO signs at the road entrance to the car park! There were always VRM kiosks beside the trolley bays but they hadn’t been used for a long time. I finished my shopping and drove home after ~45 minutes.

If Horizon contest this appeal and show images of their VRM kiosks, these were unremarkable as drivers had no way of knowing that they were back in use and customers were required to use them.

People were used to ignoring the VRM requirement and it was well known that the only rule that applied was the 3 hours maximum stay. When Horizon took over parking management they completely removed the entrance sign that gave parking information at the end Miles Walk.

On the 24th October (my first visit to the store in at least six months) there were no entrance signs at all, in breach of the CoP at Appendix B which says 'A standard form of entrance sign must be placed at the entrance to the parking area.'

Presumably Horizon or its agents removed the large old sign APCOA had in place and did not replace it. There was a complete lack of new entry signs telling drivers about the changes on their approach to the parking area. Also, I saw no parking information at the shop entrance.

This is also in breach of BPA CoP clause 19.10 'Material change – notices'.

They will also be in breach of any landowner agreement which no doubt requires Horizon to comply with the BPA CoP.

Here is what the entrance used to look like when APCOA ran this car park (image from Google Streetview), which shows where the entrance sign (blue, on the right) used to be – it was well placed and readable.

By the 24th October 2025, there was no entrance sign.  Horizon had removed the original sign and had not replaced it by the “date of breach”.

The driver’s view of the car park without signage.

On the 18th November - two more photos showing the entrance roadway as seen by a driver approaching along the private road (Miles Walk). Still no entrance signage:

Here's what drivers on foot see as they enter the store, taken by another on 30th September.

Entrance to Tesco on foot. Nothing to alert anyone:

Had Horizon made their operation known to the public by providing sufficient notices at the entry to the car park, there would be fewer customers shopping there without validating their stay.

Shopping on Monday 26th January I noticed that a small sign had been put on a lamp post nearest the junction of Miles Walk with Church Road, opposite the Tesco store. It is high up on a lamp post, 46m from the zebra crossing at the entrance to the car park and 20m from the junction with Church Road. I am sure this sign was NOT present on the 24th October 2025, the “date of breach” but include it for completeness.

This sign is inadequate -much too small and high up to be readable by the driver of a car turning into Miles Walk from Church Road who would be more concerned about pedestrians on the pavement as they turned into Miles Walk. I attach a photo for your information. Opposite the sign is a “pick up and drop off” area that could also distract attention from reading the sign.

This small sign on the lamp post, unreadable from a car turning into Miles Walk from Church Road does not meet the requirements of Annex A of the SINGLE CODE OF PRACTICE regarding Entry Signs. “A.2.2 The sign should be placed so that it is readable by drivers without their needing to look away from the road ahead.”

I respectfully request that POPLA reject this parking charge and uphold my appeal on the grounds of the missing entrance signage detailed above and the small sign on the lamp post being unreadable by a driver of an approaching car..

XXX. 28 January 2026

Coupon-mad

You need to also:

(A) add a point saying this:

As it is a new site with changed restrictions, the operator had to comply with all requirements in the Joint Code, which applies in full immediately to new sites. They must show that they have complied with the new Code regarding site-specific dates and details of landowner authority at this site.

The following Joint Code Clauses apply:

ANNEX G: Sample landowner/operator notice, as well as clauses G1, G2 and G3 and clause 14 - 'Relationship with landowner' which says:

'Where controlled land is being managed on behalf of a landowner(s), before a parking charge can be issued written confirmation must be obtained by the parking operator from the landowner(s) covering:

a) the identity of the landowner(s)

b) a boundary map of the land to be managed;

c) such byelaws as may apply to the land relating to the management of parking;

d) the permission granted to the parking operator by the landowner(s) and the duration of that permission

e) the parking terms and conditions that are to be applied by the parking operator, including as appropriate the duration of free parking permitted, parking tariffs, and specific permissions and exemptions, e.g. for staff, residents or those stopping for short periods such as taxi and minicab drivers, delivery drivers and couriers;

f) the means by which parking charges will be issued;

g) responsibility for obtaining relevant consents e.g. planning or advertising consents relating to signs

h) the obligations under which the parking operator is working, in compliance with this Code and as a member of an ATA;

i) notification of the documentation that the parking operator may be required to supply on request to authorised bodies detailing the relationship with the landowner;

and j) the parking operator’s approach to the handling of appeals against parking charges.'

and you need to show where the 'car park changes' banner is on the back fence, this is a silver bullet because it had to be in the approach road!

Add this and these extra photos too:

The operator has not complied with the new Code regarding signage, which says: ‘All signage, which gives the motoring public clear instruction, must be compliant with the Code for new sites and locations coming under the management of operators from October 2024.’ The Code says:

Clause 3

“Signs and surface markings are used to provide information to drivers to indicate that they are entering controlled land, to display such terms and conditions as apply to direct traffic movements and to delineate parking bays. Signs and surface markings must be designed, applied and maintained in such a way as to be visible, legible and unambiguous to drivers. Operators should take note of relevant best practice guidance and legislation.”

3.1.1. An entrance sign must be displayed and maintained at the entrance to controlled land to inform drivers as appropriate whether parking is permitted subject to terms and conditions, including payment, or is prohibited.

3.1.2. The size and positioning of the sign must take into account the expected speed and direction of travel of vehicles approaching the entrance and must be visible (i.e. not be obscured e.g. by foliage or other objects). The design of entrance signs must comply with the requirements detailed at Annex A.

Annex A requires 90mm text size for an entrance sign in a ‘Car park entered from higher-speed road or using a length of access road’.

POPLA can see that the issue here is the lack of visible entrance sign (and no extra signs to communicate the material changes) at or along the the Access Road.

Drivers enter beside the Tesco building in the left hand lane. You can see from my photos that this is a fairly long and unusually wide 3-lane access road. The new blue sign (purportedly the entrance sign) that I saw for the first time this month is placed next to the two EXIT lanes! In the Autumn that side was obscured by masses of twenty feet high bushes, as seen here:

I have zoomed in on the foliage in that image, which was out of control (see below for a close up of the above September photo):

Also, this proves my point that this area is beside the two exit lanes, not on the entrance side.

Putting a small blue entrance sign on the right hand side here by the pedestrian island bollards and the traffic lights onto Church Road would seem to be a deliberate or negligent attempt to recoup their new equipment outlay, by hammering unsuspecting shoppers at this site with hundreds of PCNs in the first weeks/months.

Which is exactly what has happened, according to the Tesco duty managers who told various irate Hove victims that they were tearing their hair out on a daily basis with the influx of complaints starting the day the first PCNs arrived some time in September.

No entrance sign can be seen in the above photo but due to an unusually warm and rainy Autumn, these lampposts were further engulfed in the bushes in the months before Christmas, so if an entrance sign had been in place in late October on one of those lampposts, it was positively buried.

Even if a supposed entrance sign was there in late October, no wonder it was missed as they turned right from Church Road at the traffic light where pedestrians cross at the start of the Tesco Access Road. No driver would look away from the road ahead across three lanes, turning their head 90 degrees to try to read an unremarkable small blue sign buried in the clutter of dark green bushes at the exit.

The old APCOA sign was also on the right but that was far, far bigger and it was placed at car height at the end of the Access Road, beside the car park. It could be seen and - importantly - it faced traffic, as my first photo shows.

I say ‘even if it was there’ (by October) because POPLA can see from my dated photos that the massive overgrowth of bushes were entirely removed from the off-white wall opposite the supermarket by the time of the photo dated 18th November (the one taken in darkness, above).

So any entrance sign that might have been there when Horizon took over at some point in August or September had either been engulfed by the masses of evergreen foliage by late October or even removed to allow a specialist contractor to hack back the jungle of bushes around the lampposts, by mid November.

The timeline is for Horizon to prove because signs remain their responsibility.

But even if that entrance sign was there throughout (and there is no evidence of that), Horizon still have the insurmountable problem that it is an inadequate notice because it's placed on the other side of the two exit lanes, can’t be seen from the left hand lane of three and isn’t in 90mm high text (per Annex A - car parks with Access Roads). You can tell, because it looks the same size and design as the other unremarkable blue signs in the car park, which no shopper would have cause to look at on every visit.

Finally: Material Changes

If the above is not enough to convince POPLA, there was and still is no ‘material changes’ sign in the Access Road.

The Joint Code says at clause 3.4. 'Material changes – notices':

“Where there is any material change to any pre-existing terms and conditions that would not be immediately apparent to a driver entering controlled land that is or has been open for public parking, the parking operator must place additional (temporary) notices at the site entrance for a period of not less than 4 months from the date of the change making it clear that new terms and conditions/charges apply, such that regular visitors who might be familiar with the old terms do not inadvertently incur parking charges. NOTE: Examples of material changes can include introduction of parking enforcement where none has previously applied, introduction of time-limited free parking, or reductions in the time limit within which free parking is available. Given the need to avoid confusion and clutter at entrances the test is whether the fact that a change has been made is clearly signalled to drivers on entering the land...”

Another victim who walked around the car park on 12th September (six weeks before my car was there) eventually spotted a blue banner at the back on a fence. This banner mentions 'car park changes', so this must be the extra signage that was supposed to have been put in place in the Access Road for four months or more, so that drivers could have a fair opportunity to see it from a driver's seat as they arrived.

The trouble is for this operator: whoever put that banner in place hid it on the back fence of the car park, behind the store:

Zooming in:

By placing the banner at the back - North West corner - the operator has breached Code clause 3.4.

You can see houses behind the fence and parked cars in front of the banner. For the avoidance of doubt, the Access Road doesn’t include any adjacent houses or fencing. Nor does the Tesco building have any fencing.

My collection of photos from angry victims are damning. That banner is nowhere near the entrance, where it should have been placed. There was - and still is - nothing on the approach road to alert arriving drivers to material changes.

POPLA must find that this PCN was not properly given and it must be cancelled.

wanderingalong

I made the changes very helpfully suggested above and received this from POPLA :)
I'm sure they won't change anything and people will still get caught out.

Operators need better regulation and inspection!

Thanks all!

From: POPLA noreply@POPLA .co.uk
Subject: POPLA - Your appeal has been withdrawn - Appeal Verification Code xxxx
Date: xxxx 2026
To: xxxx

Dear xxx
The operator has contacted us and told us that they have withdrawn your appeal.
If you have already paid your parking charge, this is the reason your appeal will have been withdrawn. Unfortunately, you cannot pay your parking charge and appeal, which means that POPLA’s involvement in your appeal has ended. You will not be able to request a refund of the amount paid in order to resubmit your appeal to us.
If you have not paid your parking charge, the operator has reviewed your appeal and chosen to cancel the parking charge. As the operator has withdrawn your appeal, POPLA’s involvement has now ended and you do not need to take any further action.
Kind regards
POPLA Team

Coupon-mad

Congrats! scam over.

So, Horizon are well aware that their signs are inadequate at Hove Tesco, then.

But in cases not cancelled, they'll carry on pursuing victims to court, so this thread and the others are very useful evidence for defences in a few months.

Half_way

Looking at those photos, Is this tesco near other local facilities?

It may ne worth checking to see if there is a planning condition to allow people to use the car park to use the local shops etc, and not just tesco

Coupon-mad

There isn't. But there is a goodwill agreement from Tesco ages ago that was in the Argus, whereby they said people could visit local shops too.