Councils make half a billion pounds profit from parking
Have a look at this article if you want to see how much your council made in surplus compared to others from its parking charges – it has a table which makes really interesting reading.
What has concerned me for some time is the level of financial dependency some councils have on this as a source of income, even when, as the article points out, they are meant to be barred from using it to raise revenue:
“Authorities in England and Wales saw their surplus from parking rise to £511.6 million in 2010-11 from £489.4 million a year earlier, according to an analysis of local authority accounts by the RAC Foundation.
Local authorities were warned by Mike Penning, the road safety minister, last year to stop treating motorists as an easy target to raise funds.
Town halls are supposed to use their powers to control parking to improve traffic flow and prevent gridlock on their streets.
They are prohibited from using these powers to bolster their income. However, many councils seek to get round this by earmarking the cash raised for other transport projects.”