Councils pocket almost £4m from parking charges
Councils in the Black Country and Staffordshire made almost £4 million from car parking charges last year, a new study into finances has found.
Local authorities generated £3.89m from motorists after running costs were taken into account, research from the RAC Foundation found. Wolverhampton council made the most during the financial year, posting a surplus of £1.6m. Dudley Council was next, recording a surplus of £944,000.
Stafford Borough Council had £769,000 of excess cash. Sandwell Council's total was £351,000, while Cannock Chase District Council made £232,000, according to the RAC figures.
Both Walsall Council and South Staffordshire Council made a loss from their car parks.
The RAC Foundation, which analysed parking data in financial reports from councils, urged town halls to reveal 'exactly where this huge excess ends up'. But the Local Government Association (LGA) insisted surplus money was invested back into transport projects, such as improving car parks and roads.
Councillor Steve Evans, Wolverhampton council's environment boss, said any excess cash gained from parking fees is invested in making improvements.
He said: "We do everything in our power to ensure our parking operations are run efficiently. Any surplus from parking operations goes towards relevant transportation schemes associated with parking improvements."
Dudley Council said its figure had been boosted as cash put aside for potential VAT payments can now be used.
Cabinet member Councillor Hilary Bills said: "The figure in the report is money which has been put aside as part of our potential VAT payments but has now been made available to us. This one-off payment will be reinvested into the service and helps improve our parking environment."
RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said: "The financial sums involved in local authority parking are huge and the overall profits eye-watering. Once again the year-on-year direction of travel is upwards.
"When a parking profit is made the law states that, essentially, the money can only be spent on transport and environment projects.
"We are simply asking that all councils publish annual reports to tell drivers exactly where this huge excess ends up."
However, the LGA said the report was 'wholly inaccurate and misleading' and 'peddles the myth that councils make a profit from parking'.
