MOTORISTS who have paid fines for driving through Oxford’s city centre bus gates are not legally entitled to a refund, even if the penalties are deemed unlawful.

Last week, we revealed that the Traffic Penalty Tribunal had ruled the county council’s system was flawed and that it had overturned several tickets imposed for the offence of entering a bus lane.

While the county had correctly put in place a prohibition on most traffic going through the small section of the High Street, it had not made it a bus lane and so it should not have been fining drivers for that specific offence.

The council, which collected £635,435 in fines in the first year of camera enforcement in the High Street, disputes the finding and is taking the case to the High Court for a judicial review.

Yesterday, the Department for Transport said the council would not have to pay back the fines if the ruling was upheld. Spokesman Anna McCreadie said: “The council would not be ordered to repay all fines in these circumstances.

“Drivers can only appeal before they pay a fine – once they have paid the fine, that’s the end of the matter.

“Following appeals, the tribunal can advise councils to change the restrictions. Councils can take matters to a judicial review if they believe the law has been interpreted incorrectly.

"We would not want to comment on an individual case as it is going to a judicial review."

But Mark McArthur-Christie, a former spokesman for the Association of British Drivers, who now runs the Oxfordshire-based transport thinktank Forward, said: “It seems reasonable that the council should consider repaying drivers, from a moral point of view, if it loses the judicial review.

“But you have to consider which is the greater public good, because if the council has to pay out a large sum, some transport projects could have to be put on hold.”

In the first year of camera use, 19,469 tickets were issued for illegally entering a bus lane.

Sophia Kakabadse, a spokesman for the tribunal, said: “The tribunal can not advise individuals whether they should or should not appeal. It is a matter for them.

“However, our website at trafficpenaltytribunal.gov.uk sets out the process for making an appeal.”

When asked if the council would consider refunding drivers if it lost the judicial review, spokesman Paul Smith said: “The council does not believe that it is doing anything wrong. Legal advice reinforced this. Until the result is received, it is impossible to speculate what may or may not result.”

Graham Jones, a spokesman for the High Street Business Association, said: “We’re hoping to get a sensible arrangement for local businesses to allow their drivers through the bus gate during the day instead of making a 20-minute detour around Oxford.”