25 November 2009: £328m has been collected by councils in parking fines according to figures released by The Taxpayers’ Alliance today. Although in total this represents a decrease of 16 per cent on the previous year, there are some councils where the income has actually risen.  According to Park Let, the UK’s largest parking space letting agent, this is in contrast to the rest of the parking industry that has resisted increasing rates.  Prior to the recession, car park operators increased prices by 10 per cent per annum with an average monthly space worth £93 in 2004.  The average value of a monthly space rose to £121 in early 2008 and has not risen since the recession started.

Luke Kelly, managing director, Park Let commented:  “The parking infrastructure of many of our towns and cities is just not adequate to cope with the volume of traffic. 

Many motorists and commuters in particular, have little choice but to pull up knowing they will be fined because there are just not enough parking spaces to go round.  Therefore many of these councils who are profiteering from parking fines will also be able to hike the prices at their car parks due to supply and demand. It’s simply a lose-lose situation for drivers.”

The Taxpayers’ Alliance also found that Kensington and Chelsea charged the most in fines in England relative to their daytime population at £85 per person (compared to an average of £6.14 across other English councils).

Kelly continued:  “It seems unfair that whilst the general parking industry has witnessed zero parking rate inflation, some councils such as Kensington and Chelsea deem it appropriate to increase parking fines.  Any council that is this far outside the norm should take a long hard look at their parking policies as they are obviously not playing fair.  Deterrents for rogue drivers are undoubtedly needed but no-one sets out to deliberately get a parking ticket. Perhaps Kensington and Chelsea should be looking to legitimately increase their revenues through making more spaces available and offering more people the option to purchase season tickets.

“Alternatively, motorists do have another option: rather than risk hefty fines or astronomical car park charges, they can rent someone’s drive at a fraction of the cost.  They will always be guaranteed the space, they won’t get fined or clamped and their car will not be damaged on their return.”

Park Let arranges an average of 300 contracts a month between savvy motorists and anyone with an idle or unused parking space, garage or driveway.

For further information, visit www.parklet.co.uk or call 0870 162 4977.