Parking advice - is this a black spot?

This is outside my old house, the car did not have a permit at the time. Is this a parking black spot where you could technically park for free? It’s in between to parking posts, with arrows pointing away from the spot. I parked (as pictured) but received a fine which was then paid, I subsequently got a permit to park anywhere on the road but I always wondered if I had fought the ticket, would I have been let off?

This is outside my old house, the car did not have a permit at the time. Is this a parking black spot where you could technically park for free? It’s in between to parking posts, with arrows pointing away from the spot. I parked (as pictured) but received a fine which was then paid, I subsequently got a permit to park anywhere on the road but I always wondered if I had fought the ticket, would I have been let off?