Councils raked in millions via parking fines in 2020

No stopping Monday to Friday on entrance school markings UK
Councils made millions in revenue through parking fines in 2020, new data revealed, with the London Borough of Newham topping the list. Photo: Getty

Councils made millions in revenue through parking fines in 2020, new data revealed, with the London Borough of Newham topping the list, having made a whopping £10m ($13.6m) by issuing 239,000 fines.

UK price comparison service Compare the Market said councils are charging more than £850,000 in parking fines a year on average, with some gathering more than ten times that amount.

“Parking fine revenues are a cash cow for many local authorities. Up and down the country drivers are regularly being caught out by tight parking restrictions, said Dan Hutson, head of motor at Compare the Market.

“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,” he added.

Chart: Compare the Market
Chart: Compare the Market

Nine of the top 10 local authorities taking in the most cash from parking fines are in Greater London, with each council collecting more than £4m in revenue in fines each year.

Outside of London, the City of Glasgow and Birmingham City Council were the local authorities most likely to issue a ticket. Wellington Street in Glasgow and Alum Rock Road in Birmingham are the top parking fine hotspots in those cities.

Chart: Compare the Market
Chart: Compare the Market

The average parking fine issued by councils across the UK is £37, rising to £41 on average in the 20 local authorities that made the most revenue from parking fines.

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Drivers in London Borough of Haringey, Gosport Borough Council, and Durham County Council were issued with the highest fines costing them £72.04, £66.25, and £57.93 on average respectively.

In the last year local authorities, on average, issued nearly 23,000 parking fine, with the 20 authorities that issued the most fines handing out nearly 2.2 million fines between them.

Across the country local authorities are issuing 63 parking fines a day, rising to 307 fines per day by the 20 local authorities issuing the most fines.

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