A weekend event took place recently close to my house and a traffic management plan was set up by my local council to deal with parking.

A letter was sent out informing local residents of the event and we were told: "If your street is due to be affected...you will receive details...in a follow up letter." As I did not receive any further correspondence I assumed that our road was not going to be affected.

On Friday evening, I left my house and noticed traffic cones along the road and that most cars parked on my street had a "Resident's Permit" (which was a notice on a printed piece of paper) displayed in the windscreen. I attempted to call my local council to ask what I should do as I wished to park outside my own house, but they were closed for the weekend.

When I came out of my house on Sunday morning there was a PCN on my car. My neighbours told me that they had received a second letter with the Residents Permit printed on the back of it. I, however, had not received one through my door (it IS possible they had missed out one or two houses along the way).

I challenged the PCN by email, but this was rejected as I had not "clearly displayed a permit" even though (a) I had never received one and (b) I could prove that I was a resident of my street.

Do I have grounds to appeal or should I pay the reduced rate while I can?