Over 1,000 motorists to get penalty charge notice refund after council blunder

It comes after experimental traffic regulation orders which extended the operational hours of bus lanes in Hull expired recently – without a new permanent order to replace them.

It meant Hull Council had no legal powers to issue £60 PCNs to drivers using the bus lanes between 7am and 6.30pm Monday to Saturday.

The council has apologised and said it will be refunding £38,000 to 1,219 motorists. They will be writing to 406 others who haven’t yet paid, cancelling the PCNs.

A spokesperson for Hull Council said: “We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused. We have prepared letters, which are being sent out to all affected motorists, so there is no need to contact us.

“As soon as we identified this admin issue, we turned off the enforcement cameras on all bus lanes, except for the Carr Lane bus gate, while we investigated. We then began the process of issuing refunds to 1,219 drivers who had paid to date, totalling £38, 000, as well as cancelling a further 406 PCNs that had not yet been paid.

“A new traffic regulation order was then prepared, and this was advertised in the Hull Daily Mail on Wednesday 23 March, in line with the usual statutory guidance for any traffic or roadworks regulations.

“After a successful trial period, Hull City Council’s Cabinet voted in December to make the 7am-6.30pm bus lanes permanent, and this is currently being implemented.

“Whilst this is in progress, we would advise motorists to follow the signed restrictions on bus lanes, which are there to improve the reliability and punctuality of Hull’s public transport system and to keep cyclists safe from the main flow of traffic.”