Arun Parking Tickets Fell 6.5 Percent to 15,937 and 235 Phone Payment Errors Cancelled

• Arun District Council’s civil enforcement officers issued 15,937 parking tickets in the 2025/26 financial year, 1,107 fewer than the 17,044 of 2024/25.
• Car park tickets fell 8.6 percent to 5,695, and 235 of the cancelled car park tickets involved a RingGo or MiPermit payment made for the wrong location or with the wrong registration.
• A ticket paid within 14 days costs half as much, and 61.4 percent of kerbside tickets were settled at that stage.

Pay by Phone Accounted for 363 of the 1,113 Car Park Tickets Arun Cancelled

Arun District Council’s parking team issued 15,937 penalty charge notices between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026, a fall of 1,107 tickets or 6.5 percent on the 17,044 issued the year before. The count covers the full financial year: the council’s own monthly list runs from April 2025 through March 2026, and the year closed on 31 March.

Behind the headline fall sits a cancellation record that drivers in Littlehampton, Bognor Regis and Arundel can use. Of the 1,113 car park tickets the council cancelled, 235 were pay by phone cases where the driver had paid through RingGo or MiPermit but entered the wrong location or the wrong vehicle registration. A further 128 were cancelled as paid for parking through RingGo or MiPermit. Together the two phone categories make 363 cancellations, or 32.6 percent of the car park total.

The drop is real, but small against the climb before it. Arun issued 13,670 tickets in 2022/23, 14,411 in 2023/24 and 17,044 in 2024/25. This year’s 15,937 sits 10.6 percent above 2023/24 and 16.6 percent above 2022/23, so the 2024/25 jump was only partly undone.

The Three Year Count and Where It Moved

Kerbside tickets, which the council issues on behalf of West Sussex County Council, fell 5.3 percent from 10,811 to 10,242. Car park tickets fell faster, down 8.6 percent from 6,233 to 5,695. Car parks produced 35.7 percent of all tickets in 2025/26, and the kerbside produced the other 64.3 percent.

Timing shows a clear season. April 2025 was the busiest month with 1,723 tickets and January 2026 the quietest with 1,046, a gap of 677. August was the summer peak at 1,621 tickets, and the count fell to 1,115 in October and 1,091 in November before December rose to 1,312.

Enforcement follows the town centres. The eight streets with the most tickets are all in Bognor Regis and all inside its controlled parking zone, led by High Street with 496 tickets, London Road with 421 and Sudley Road with 351. The council puts the higher Bognor Regis rate down to the zone, which gets extra attention under its management contract. Outside the zone, Beach Road in Littlehampton recorded 245 tickets and High Street in Arundel 234.

Two car parks stand out. St Martins in Littlehampton generated 1,051 tickets, 18.5 percent of all car park tickets, and Hothamton in Bognor Regis added 745, or 13.1 percent. Between them the pair account for 1,796 tickets, 31.5 percent of the car park total. Mewsbrook in Littlehampton followed with 442 and Gloucester Road in Bognor Regis with 382. Drivers comparing councils can set these counts beside the South Essex parking ticket figures, which cover a different authority’s year.

What Earns a Ticket Kerbside and in a Car Park

Arun sorts every ticket into a higher or lower charge band. The council says higher charges apply where a contravention blocked a bay that someone else needed, such as a bus stop or a disabled bay, or where it affected safety, and lower charges cover less serious breaches such as parking outside a bay marking or overstaying. The pound amounts are set in national regulations, and the council’s report does not print them.

On the kerbside, 7,631 of the 10,242 tickets (74.5 percent) carried the higher charge. Parking in a restricted street at the wrong hours, mainly on single and double yellow lines, produced 4,090 tickets, or 39.9 percent of the kerbside total. Parking longer than permitted drew 1,359, parking in a residents’ or shared use bay without a valid permit or payment drew 1,154, parking without a visible pay and display ticket drew 1,045, and misusing a disabled bay drew 603.

Car parks run the opposite way. Only 146 of the 5,695 car park tickets were at the higher band, while 5,549 (97.4 percent) were lower. One offence dominates: leaving no valid pay and display ticket, voucher or parking clock in clear view accounted for 5,020 tickets, 88.1 percent of the car park total. Another 393 were for staying past the paid time, 129 for using a space not meant for that class of vehicle, 121 for parking outside the markings and 107 for disabled bay misuse.

Why Arun Cancelled 1,972 Tickets

Arun cancelled 1,113 car park tickets and 859 kerbside tickets, 1,972 in all. Set against the 15,937 issued, that is 12.4 percent, though the report does not say every cancelled ticket was issued in the same year, so the ratio is a guide. For car parks alone it works out at one cancellation for roughly every five tickets issued, 19.5 percent.

The car park reasons show who wins. The largest group, 328 tickets, went once the driver showed a valid pay and display ticket had been bought. Next came the 235 wrong location or wrong registration pay by phone cases, then 154 tickets spoiled and never served, then 128 phone payments, 78 valid parking discs, 49 valid Blue Badges, 31 permit holders and 31 officer errors. Add the three payment groups and 691 of the 1,113 car park cancellations, 62.1 percent, trace to a driver who had a ticket or phone payment on record.

Kerbside cancellations look different. Spoiled tickets that were never served account for 545 of the 859, or 63.4 percent. After those come 67 officer errors, 63 valid pay and display tickets, 51 valid Blue Badges, 30 faulty lines or signs, 29 mitigating circumstances, 23 breakdowns and 17 loading or unloading cases. Across both settings, 100 tickets were dropped when a driver produced a valid Blue Badge and 98 when the officer had made an error.

The council is stricter on permits. Its guidance says a season ticket or permit is tied to one vehicle, and logging the wrong registration against it would not usually justify cancelling the ticket. Permit holders can update the registration online through MiPermit or by emailing [email protected] for paper permits.

What Happens If a Ticket Goes Unpaid

The clock starts on the day of issue. A driver has 28 days to pay, and the amount is cut by 50 percent when payment arrives within 14 days. Government guidance sets the same national pattern: 28 days to pay, with a reduced fine in some cases within 14 days. An informal challenge can be made at that stage, and the later stages follow the rules in our explainer on how parking fine appeals work.

If the ticket stays unpaid after 28 days, Arun asks the DVLA for the keeper’s details and posts a Notice to Owner. The full charge is then due, and the keeper has a further 28 days to pay or to make a formal representation. A rejected representation opens the route to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, which is free and gives the appellant the choice of a hearing or a written decision. Arun recorded five tribunal outcomes in 2025/26: three appeals dismissed, in April (1) and March (2), and two allowed, in August and December (1 each). Drivers who want to see how a much larger authority fares can read the London tribunal appeal results.

Ignoring a Notice to Owner moves the ticket to a charge certificate, which adds 50 percent and gives 14 days to pay. If that passes, the council can register the debt at the Traffic Enforcement Centre, part of Northampton County Court, and ask for a warrant of control. In 2025/26 Arun registered 2,434 kerbside debts and 646 car park debts, 3,080 in all, and recorded warrants for 2,255 and 500 of them, a total of 2,755. The report does not say which year each of those tickets was first issued.

The fees at that stage are fixed by regulation and are on top of the original charge. From May 2026 the compliance stage fee rose from £75 to £79, the enforcement stage fee from £235 to £247 and the sale or disposal fee from £110 to £116. A debt that reaches the enforcement stage carries £326 in agent fees alone, £442 if goods are sold, before the original charge and the court registration charge.

Most drivers do not get that far. Of 10,242 kerbside tickets, 6,286 were paid at the discount stage and 880 at the full charge. Of 5,695 car park tickets, 3,565 were paid at the discount stage and 401 at the full charge. In total 1,281 tickets, 8.0 percent of all those issued, were paid at the full penalty.

How to Avoid Becoming One of the 235

The 235 cases came down to a payment that did not match the place or the car. The cost of getting it right is small: the standard tariff at St Martins runs from £1.90 for up to one hour to £9.80 for over five hours, as of 1 April 2026.

Before confirming a RingGo or MiPermit session, check the location code against the sign in the car park and read the registration back letter by letter. MiPermit runs a pay by phone service in all of Arun’s car parks, with RingGo alongside it, so the same check applies on either app. Keep the confirmation: the council cancelled 363 tickets in 2025/26 where RingGo or MiPermit payment was on record.

For pay and display, the ticket works only if it is clearly displayed on the dashboard. The council can cancel a first ticket where a valid ticket fell off the dashboard or turned over and the driver supplies it later, but repeat tickets for the same reason might stand. A Blue Badge has to sit on the dashboard throughout the stay and be in date, and a badge does not cover a loading bay.

Machine faults do not guarantee a cancellation. Arun accepts that machines fail but points to other machines and RingGo, so a ticket can stand. A driver who finds a fault should report it. The council also enforces only in its own car parks: private car parks and those owned by West Sussex County Council fall outside its powers.

Drivers who want free time can use the two hour scheme. A virtual disc costs £4 and a cardboard disc £6, and a single disc works across six participating car parks in Littlehampton and Bognor Regis, once per day for a continuous stay of up to two hours.

Arun states that its civil enforcement officers earn a salary with no commission and no ticket targets. The count shows where tickets land: 5,020 car park tickets for no clearly displayed valid ticket and 4,090 kerbside tickets on yellow lines, each with 14 days to halve the cost.

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Sources

• Arun District Council: Parking services annual report 2025-2026
• GOV.UK: Parking fines and penalty charge notices

Reviewed by Preetam Gadekar