Councils in England made a record profit of £867 million from parking charges last year, new figures reveal.
The data from 353 authorities shows the councils took more than £1.6 billion in income from on-street and off-street parking and penalties in financial year 2017/18, and spent £793 million on collection and administration, leaving the record surplus.
The profit is £48 million higher than last year according to a report to be published later today by the RAC Foundation.
Councils' profit has leapt 70 per cent since the RAC Foundation's first such report just seven years ago. In financial year 2010/2011 the England-wide surplus was only £511 million.
By law, councils have to invest any profit from the charges into improving local transport. A huge proportion of the money goes to subsidising concessionary tickets such as the Freedom Pass for free bus travel for over-60s
As in previous years the unitary authority of Brighton and Hove made the most parking profit of any council outside London at more than £23 million. The next most profitable - Milton Keynes - made less than half as much in financial year 2017/18
Edmund King, president of motoring organisation the AA, said: 'If drivers continue to be hit with hiked parking charges then some will vote with their wheels and start using out-of-town shopping centres or indeed do more shopping on-line.
'At a time when the high street is under intense pressure, more parking incentives are needed to attract, not deter, potential customers.
'If they have to pay more each day for parking, workers will have less money to spend at lunchtime.
'They will also have less money for other spending in shops. That adds to the High Street's downward spiral.'
He added that the cost of parking should cover the cost of providing the service, not 'become a stealth tax paid by a few thousand in each town'.
In London, 33 councils across the capital generated a profit of well over £1 million a day from parking charges and fines handed out to motorists.
The capital's authorities turned a profit on parking charges and parking fines of £406 million in financial year 2017/18 according to the RAC Foundation figures; up from £378 million the previous year.
Meanwhile Manchester City Council cleared a £10 million profit in 2017/18 and Liverpool made £4 million.
Of the 353 individual authorities included in the data, only 39 failed to turn a profit - the others did or they broke even.
Hugh Bladon, from the Alliance of British Drivers, said: 'They're just fleecing the motorist aren't they.
'And the motorist isn't getting much in return. The state of some of our roads - especially in urban areas - is shocking.
'They've gone up and up and [councils] will keep doing this, because they think if people drive they've got deep pockets but that's not true. It's the poorest motorists who are hit worst by this.'
Westminster City Council topped the table both inside and outside London, making more than £57 million in profit from motorists in parking charges and fines in financial year 2017/18
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: 'When totted up council parking income amounts to a multi-million-pound business.
'Our purpose in publishing this analysis is not to suggest the existence of any sharp practice, but to encourage motorists to seek out and read their own local authority's annual parking report - and ask some pointed questions if their authority doesn't publish one.
'We think it is important that motorists check for themselves whether their own council's explanation of the level of charges, penalties and details of how the net income is then spent reflects, as it should, the use of parking controls purely as a tool to manage traffic.'
Cllr Martin Tett, transport spokesman for the Local Government Association, said: 'Councils are on the side of motorists and shoppers.
'They have to strike a balance when setting parking policy, both on street and off street, to make sure that there are spaces available for residents, high streets are kept vibrant and traffic is kept moving.
'Any income raised through on-street parking charges is spent on running parking services and any surplus is only spent on essential transport projects, such as tackling our national £9 billion roads repair backlog and other local transport projects that benefit high streets and local economies.
'Councils throughout the country are already leading the way in transforming the future potential of their town centres in the face of unprecedented changes in shopping habits and the retail landscape and parking is only part of a successful solution to high performing town centres.'
Authorities raked in £1.6 billion last financial year, and after spending £793m on expenses like wardens' wages came out with a surplus of £867m
Linkhienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/11/19/councils-made-a-record-867million-profit-in-parking-fines-in-england-up-50million-on-last-year/
Main photo article Councils in England made a record profit of £867 million from parking charges last year, new figures reveal.
The data from 353 authorities shows the councils took more than £1.6 billion in income from on-street and off-street parking and penalties in financial year 2017/18, and spent £793 mil...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves Online news HienaLouca
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