Unusual parking restriction

At Brentwood station, there is some parking with the following restriction:

Mon-Fri
7:00-9:30am
4:30-7:00pm
30 mins
No return within 1 hour

Mon-Fri
9:30-4:30pm
2 hours
No return within 1 hour

Here it is on Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/@51.6137987,0.3001171,3a,15y,191.12h,88.48t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sKodH3luS84FXfaDkrGJ7MQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

I was wondering what is allowable when the restriction changes? For example, if I park there at 9:10am, when can I park until? 9:40? 11:10? 11:30? And similarly what if I park around 4pm?

If you arrived at 9:40 you'd be permitted to stay for 30 mins, so 10:10.
Arriving at 4pm you'd be permitted to stay for 2hrs, so 6pm.

Basically your stay isn't being extended because your car is already parked up there. The time windows are for when you are arriving.

Now Tom will explain how I'm completely wrong

I suspect the highways authority in question has messed up its logic.

If I arrive at 4.25 p.m., I'd expect from that sign to be able to park until 6.25 p.m. Arriving 5 minutes later, though, I'd have to get the car moved by 5 p.m. That surely isn't the intention of rush hour limited parking at a busy commuter railway station!

But if I do arrive at 4.25 p.m., when do I have to move my car? Is it 4.55 p.m., 5 p.m. or 6.25 p.m.?

Enquiring minds need to know!

I would imagine though that if you park at 16:25, if a traffic warden logs your number plate at 16:35 and then 17:20, say, then you would get a penalty charge.

I personally took the opposite view and thought that if I park at 9, 2 hours would be allowed since I wouldn't exceed 30 minutes in that restriction period.

I would be interested to know what @IWMTom thinks.

Whichever gives you more time, tickets won't be enforceable due to the misleading/confusing signs.

Very interesting! Yet more evidence of the confusion surrounding parking signs. They certainly need a revamp!

To me, the clock realistically begins when the traffic womble first makes a note of your registration.

If your registration was first clocked at 9:20, I would say the LA would argue that you can only park until 9:50 even though you've crossed into another boundary as the time you arrived is the zone that applies.

I would be very interested as to what the LA say if you submit a Freedom of Information request - please do feed back as I'm intrigued; it's definitely a confusing one!

Great idea! I have done this now: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/confusing_parking_restriction

Brilliant! Please post in this thread when you have received a response

So it has taken them nearly a month to tell me to contact South Essex Parking Partnership - not very impressive. I have emailed South Essex Parking Partnership about this now.

Typical! South Essex Parking Partnership didn't read my email properly and assumed that I had asked a more basic question as they said "If you parked at 9.10am in the restriction Mon-Fri 7am to 9.30am you could stay parked until the second restriction comes into force at 4.30pm to 7.00pm and then stay another 30mins to 5.00pm".

I have replied asking them to review my question again but I do wonder whether or not I could successfully appeal a penalty notice if I were to do what they said in their reply, armed with that email.

Brilliant! Please post in this thread when you have received a response

After sending the same question to South Essex Parking Partnership three times due to them not reading it properly twice, I have finally had a satisfactory response and it seems that the restrictions are applied in the best possible way (9am is a very good time to park here!). This is what they said:

1, If you arrive at 9.10am your first parking time allowance would be 20 mins to the end of the first restriction 9.30am the second time restriction would then come into force 9.30am to 4.30pm. You can now stay for 2 hours which would take you to 11.30 am after which you must leave and not return within 1hr

2, If you arrived at 4pm you first parking time allowance would be 30mins to the end of this period restriction 4.30pm. At this time the next restriction would come into force which would allow your to park for another 30mins thus allowing you to park until 5pm after which you must leave and not return within 1hr.

3, If you parked at 8.59am you could stay until 9.29am (30min) after which you must leave and not return within 1hr

4, If you parked at 2.29pm you could stay until 4.29pm (2hrs) after which you must leave and not return within 1hr