Parking revenues rise by up to 37,000%

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Motorists paid £1.2bn in parking fines last year
Revenues from fines rise in one case by 37,150%
Westminster council took £32,000,000 in 2004

Council revenues from parking fines have soared astronomically

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Motorists paid £1.2 billion in parking fines last year and are shelling out 82% more than they did nine years ago.

The new figures, obtained by Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael, coincide with a damning new report from the Transport Select Committee, which says that parking enforcement is in dire need of a radical shake up.

Over the last decade, many councils have taken over responsibility for parking enforcement from police traffic wardens. In these cases, revenue from parking fines goes to the local authorities.

Carmichael's figures show that this revenue has increased dramatically over the last nine years, with Ellesmere Port and Neston in Cheshire leading the way with a staggering 37,150% rise to £745,000.

Sandwell council, in the West Midlands, is taking 19,686% more in parking penalties than it used to, gaining £1.38 million last year, while South Ribble in Lancashire completes the top three with a 14,300% rise.

Westminster in London leads the country in revenue from parking fines, with £32,431,000 collected in 2004.

Although councils enforce parking in a third as many areas as the police, they issue seven times as many tickets with 7.1 million notices issued in 2003.