Do police "No waiting" zones have any legal force?

Just received news of this victory from Mike Garrod and raises some important points.

In July 2005 I parked on a section of road in Ipswich where unlimited parking was allowed. On return to the vehicle I found a £30 fixed penalty notice had been place on the vehicle. I sent the notice to Suffolk Constabulary, Central Ticket Office, advising them that the vehicle had been parked in an unrestricted section of road and requesting that the ticket should be withdrawn. They replied, refuting this as there were police "no waiting" cones in place. Not in my view. Friends and family advised me to pay up as I would not win against the authority.

A summons was issued against me, alleging that I had offended
i) Ipswich Borough Council (Waiting and Unloading Restrictions)(Amendment Order 2004-3) and
ii) Section 11 Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and
iii) Section 5 of Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. This was before parking in Ipswich was "decriminalised", which happened some three weeks later. There would also be a minimum claim of £35 for costs.

I requested a copy of the Ipswich Borough Council Act, which they kindly supplied. The Act confirmed that waiting was allowed in that section of road, but there was no mention of police "no waiting" cones. Similarly, a study of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, sections 11 & 5, showed no mention of "no waiting" cones. There was also no mention of the cones in the statement of facts accompanying the summons, which was pointed out to me by the Legal Adviser of Ipswich Magistrates Court.
After two postponements of the court case and further correspondence, I requested to be advised where, in the Acts quoted, police "no waiting" cones are mentioned.
I also provided photographic evidence of the parking place, with correct white lines on the road..

There were several clerical errors in the paperwork served on me which I pointed out to the court, e.g., I was given fourteen days to reply to an undated letter from the Crown Prosecutor.

The court case was due at 10 am on Monday 20 February. At 3 pm on the previous Friday I received a very blunt telephone call from the Crown Prosecutor who advised that I would be receiving a Letter of Discontinuation of the case. It had been dropped! The letter stated that "The decision to discontinue these charges has been taken because there is insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction". And I was allowed to claim any reasonable costs incurred in respect of the proceedings, which I felt duty bound to do.

So, a win over both Ipswich Borough Council for an unlawful fixed penalty charge and also over the Crown Prosecution Service. Oi larfed moyself silly.
I am advised from an inside source that the traffic warden and his senior are not happy bunnies at the case being withdrawn. What can one say.
The question still remains: - do police "no waiting" cones have any legal force?.
If Ipswich Borough Council and The Crown Prosecution Service had proceeded with the case and it had been established that police "no waiting" cones are merely advisory, how many motorists would be in a position to reclaim unlawful fines?
Although you may not have been able to help directly in this case, your success in other cases, mainly in the decriminalised regime, gave impetus to pursue this to the end.


Mike Garrod