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of PCN appeals against Mid Sussex District Council are won
The Traffic Penalty Tribunal recorded 296 outcomes for appeals against Mid Sussex District Council from 2013/14 to 2024/25, and 127 of them ended with the driver paying nothing. That is 11.5 points below the 54.4% tribunal average.
Over the same period Mid Sussex District Council told the tribunal it issued 96,976 penalty charge notices. Only 296 of them ever reached an adjudicator, roughly one in 328. Almost everyone pays, which is worth knowing before you assume a ticket must be fair because so few people fight it.
25 of those 127 wins were uncontested. In 19.7% of the appeals Mid Sussex District Council lost, it put up no defence at the tribunal at all. That is a small share, so expect Mid Sussex District Council to defend most cases and put your argument in front of an adjudicator rather than fold early. Those tickets were not close calls. The authority had already given up on them, and the appeal was the only thing standing between the driver and a cancelled charge.
Is it getting easier or harder?
In 2013/14 to 2015/16, drivers won 41.5% of appeals against Mid Sussex District Council, from 106 outcomes. In 2022/23 to 2024/25 it was 16.7%, from 48. Drivers are doing worse now than they were, by 24.8 points, so do not lean on the older figures.
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| Year | Allowed | Not contested | Refused | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013/14 | 8 | 4 | 27 | 31% |
| 2014/15 | 11 | 1 | 18 | 40% |
| 2015/16 | 18 | 2 | 17 | 54% |
| 2016/17 | 15 | 6 | 12 | 62% |
| 2017/18 | 10 | 2 | 16 | 43% |
| 2018/19 | 15 | 1 | 15 | 52% |
| 2019/20 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 41% |
| 2020/21 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 56% |
| 2021/22 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 63% |
| 2022/23 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 42% |
| 2023/24 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 4% |
| 2024/25 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 18% |
| All years | 102 | 25 | 165 | 42.9% |
Busiest year: 2013/14, with 39 appeals decided. A further 4 appeals were closed by consent order across the period, which the tribunal counts separately because it can mean the driver agreeing to pay the original charge.
What this does and does not tell you
These are appeals that reached an independent adjudicator, which is the last stage. They leave out every ticket cancelled earlier, when you first challenge it or make formal representations, and that is where most successful challenges actually end. So your real chance of getting a ticket cancelled somewhere in the process is higher than 42.9%, not lower. Among the 203 authorities in England outside London and in Wales with enough appeals to compare, Mid Sussex District Council ranks 178th for how often drivers win.
Two details worth knowing before you read too much into the number. The refused column includes appeals made after the deadline and appeals the driver withdrew, so it is not purely a record of arguments that lost on the evidence. And a small number of appeals each year finish with no outcome recorded against any of these categories, so the totals here are of appeals that reached a recorded outcome rather than of every appeal lodged.
Before you write
- Find your contravention code. Every PCN carries a two digit code that says exactly what they claim you did, and what they have to prove. Look yours up.
- Check the deadline. Discounts and rights both expire. Work out your dates.
- Know how appeals work outside London. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal route, step by step.
- Do not just ignore it. What actually happens if you do.
How similar authorities compare
| Authority | Appeals won |
|---|---|
| Aylesbury Vale District Council | 43.7% of 126 |
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 43.4% of 645 |
| Stevenage Borough Council | 43% of 158 |
| Mid Sussex District Council (this page) | 42.9% of 296 |
| Oxfordshire County Council (Oxford) | 42.9% of 597 |
| East Sussex County Council (Lewes) | 42.8% of 201 |
| Ashford Borough Council | 42.7% of 234 |
Every authority we hold figures for, with sources →
Source: Traffic Penalty Tribunal, appeals data by authority, covering 2013/14 to 2024/25. The tribunal decides appeals for England outside London and for Wales, across parking, bus lane, moving traffic, clean air zone, river crossing and littering penalties. Only parking penalties appear in its record. A tribunal outcome depends on the evidence in that particular case, so nothing here predicts yours.