Council parking tickets are not my speciality I will admit as I think they're called PCN's or something like that.
However my understanding of the law is that you are still party to a 'contract' so the following case law may still apply.
1) Vine vs Watham Forest - to enter into a contract you must be able to understand the terms that you are entering into. Therefore if the signage is not in a prominent place, lit and clearly legible you would have an argument (usually they are all over the street lamps which I would say is reasonable.....in this case it appears that they weren't).
2) Its £35............just pay it.
Ceejay...........you drive a zed - for the love of God drop any attempt to portray yourself as a 'poor student'. If your poor get a cheaper car!