Local authorities in the UK are issuing more than £850,000 in parking fines every year, and the local authority with the highest revenues is collecting more than £10.6 million in tickets, a new report has revealed.
The research, gathered from various Freedom of Information requests by the price comparison website Compare the Market and based on the responses of 204 councils, shows that the London Borough of Newham is the 'parking fine capital' of the UK, issuing a staggering 239,000 penalty notices in the space of 12 months between July 2019 and August 2020.
The top 10 UK councils generating the highest revenues from motorists is dominated by London boroughs, which collectively boasts more than £65 million in fines issued in a year.
Penalty charges in London boroughs begin at £60 for areas in band B and £80 in band A for minor offences, such as overstaying in a pay-and-display parking bay. For more serious offences, such as parking on double yellow lines, the band B charge is £110 and the band A charge is £130, but there is usually a 50% discount for quick payment.
The report states that UK councils had issued an average of 23,000 parking fines each – with the 20 authorities that issued the most fines handing out nearly 2.2 million fines between them, adding that the average parking fine issued by councils across the UK is £37, rising to £41 in the 20 local authorities that raised the most revenue from penalty notices.
Outside of London, Birmingham City Council issued 112,735 parking fines in the same 12 months, generating a total of just under £5.5 million in revenue, and Glasgow was just behind the Midlands city, issuing 104,938 penalty notices and generating a total of just under £4 million in revenue from unlucky motorists.
Dan Hutson, the head of motors at Compare the Market, said parking fines were a “cash cow for many local authorities”.
He added: “Up and down the country, drivers are regularly being caught out by tight parking restrictions. With the third lockdown now in place, we would encourage drivers to take extra care and attention when parking up their car to ensure they avoid a parking fine.”
Keyword: Local authority rakes in £10.6m from parking fines in just 12 months