Bitter experience teaches most of us that it is very rare that officialdom ever reverses a decision that affects us adversely, whether or not logic dictates that they should.

This week however the company running Wycombe Lido had the very good sense to realise that they really had no option but to rescind the £150 parking fines issued to many drivers in late July despite signs on the parking payment machines stating that the new parking regulations did not come into force until August.

It was small wonder that the motorists were infuriated and kicked up an almighty fuss; but more often than not in these circumstances, those who tick the boxes and fill out the forms force us to jump through innumerable hoops and threaten legal redress before they will even think of admitting that they got it wrong.

During this time, many of us apparently will simply shrug, pay the fine and get on with our lives. This is what they rely on, of course. They have all the time in the world to ignore our complaints and file them repeatedly in the bin; and normally we have to have the dogged persistence of Frank Sinatra’s ant with his rubber tree plant to have a chance of beating city hall and getting justice.

In this case, the evidence was so overwhelming as to make it impossible for (Con)Fusion Lifestyle to enforce the fines, but we should still be thankful that they didn’t protract the dispute. I went to court once to have an unjust ticket overturned and succeeded – but it took me hours of my time which others might consider not worth it. This was after I had gone into a police station in Hull to explain the circumstances in advance of why my car tax was not on my screen, but was paid for. The magistrates were very sympathetic, I am glad to say.

Let us hope that on October 15th and 16th the same common sense will prevail at the High Court in London when the appeal concerning the wasteful and pointless HS2 will be heard. The Appeal may be on the basis of the government’s failure to undertake a Strategic Environmental Assessment before green lighting the project, (a failure described by one judge as ‘egregious’) but it at least opens the doors for a major rethink.

One can only hope that common sense will prevail.