Councils rake in millions from parking fines
Local authorities take an average of £850,000 a year from parking fines, with some councils bringing in 10 times that amount
The local councils with the highest annual parking fine revenues have been revealed, with the average revenue over a 12-month period being £850,000, and the biggest earners bringing in around 10 times that amount.
The London Borough of Newham topped the list: between August 2019 and July 2020, it issued 239,000 parking fines. With an average fine amount of £44.46, this resulted in revenue of £10.62 million.
Nine of the top 10 UK councils for parking-fine revenue are in Greater London, with all boroughs taking more than £4 million in the 12-month period. After Newham, Haringey came second (137,415 fines; £9.89 million revenue) and Ealing was third (157,759 fines; £8.37 million revenue).
Top 10 London councils:
|
Council |
Fines issued |
Total revenue |
Average fine |
Location with highest number |
|
London Borough of Newham |
239,000 |
£10,625,600.00 |
£44.46 |
Browning Road |
|
London Borough of Haringey |
137,415 |
£9,898,840.00 |
£72.04 |
High Road, N17 |
|
London Borough of Ealing |
157,759 |
£8,372,318.20 |
£53.07 |
Longfield Avenue/New Broadway |
|
London Borough of Redbridge |
132,084 |
£6,484,034.21 |
£49.09 |
Ilford Lane |
|
London Borough of Enfield |
131,820 |
£6,071,032.00 |
£46.06 |
Montagu Road/Conduit Lane |
|
London Borough of Lambeth |
121,895 |
£6,023,222.76 |
£49.41 |
Acre Lane |
|
London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham |
117,098 |
£5,570,366.00 |
£47.57 |
MacFarlane Road |
|
London Borough of Islington |
132,582 |
£5,479,328.00 |
£41.33 |
St John Street |
|
London Borough of Brent |
105,986 |
£4,662,650.00 |
£43.99 |
Kingsbury Road |
|
London Borough of Bexley |
129,667 |
£4,361,000.00 |
£33.63 |
Bellegrove Road, Welling |
The only non-London authority to make the top 10 list was Glasgow City Council, which issued 104,938 fines at an average of £52.27, bringing in £5.48 million - this puts Glasgow in eighth place.
Birmingham City Council ranked second among the non-London authorities, issuing 112,735 fines, from which it earned £3.95 million. Third was Brighton and Hove City Council (106,037 fines; £2.83 million revenue).
The average parking fine issued by a UK council during the 12-month period was £37. The London Borough of Haringey had the highest average fine, at £72.04, followed by Gosport Borough Council (£66.25) and Durham County Council (£57.93).
Top 10 non-London councils:
|
Council |
Fines issued |
Total revenue |
Average fine |
Location with highest number |
|
Glasgow City |
104,938 |
£5,484,781.03 |
£52.27 |
Wellington Street |
|
Birmingham City Council |
112,735 |
£3,951,065.00 |
£35.05 |
Alum Rock Road |
|
Brighton and Hove City Council |
106,037 |
£2,835,025.64 |
£26.74 |
Madeira Drive |
|
Liverpool City Council |
63,831 |
£2,495,815.00 |
£39.10 |
Mount Pleasant Car Park |
|
East Sussex County Council |
42,531 |
£2,029,072.00 |
£47.71 |
High Street, Lewes |
|
Newcastle upon Tyne City Council |
59,013 |
£1,880,248.91 |
£31.86 |
Dean Street Multi-storey |
|
Medway Council |
64,648 |
£1,577,274.29 |
£24.40 |
Blue Boar Lane Car Park |
|
Bournemouth Borough Council |
57,118 |
£1,544,610.00 |
£27.04 |
Christchurch Road, Bournemouth |
|
Cardiff Council |
49,781 |
£1,489,450.00 |
£29.92 |
Windsor Place, Cardiff City Centre |
|
Oxfordshire County Council |
42,525 |
£1,411,739.00 |
£33.20 |
St Giles, Oxford |
The average local authority handed out 23,000 fines over 12 months - equivalent to 63 fines per day - while the 20 highest-earning councils issued almost 2.2 million fines between them in the same period.
The data comes from freedom of information requests made by Compare the Market, whose head of motor, Dan Hutson, commented: “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. 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.”
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