Parking charges rake in millions for councils

The figures, which were compiled by the RAC, represent income from parking charges and penalty notices with running costs deducted.

They show that the four Black Country authorities and four Staffordshire councils brought in £4.99m over the last year, up from £4.75m the year before.

Wolverhampton council had the highest total in the region, bringing in £1.4 million in 2016-17, although that amount was £474,000 down on last year.

Lichfield recorded a surplus of £1.18m, a slight increase on the previous year, while Walsall Council profited to the tune of £492,000 – an increase of 192 per cent on 2015-16.

In Dudley the local authority made £435,000 profit, up 14.8 per cent, and Sandwell Council brought in £430,000, a rise of 35 per cent.

In Stafford the parking surplus increased by 14 pwer cent to £846,000, while South Staffordshire District Council made a £75,000 loss on parking over the last year.

Across England, councils generated £819m from parking fees and fines in 2016-17, an increase of 10 per cent on the previous year.

The Local Government Association said parking charge surpluses were spent on 'essential transport projects'.

RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said the rise in profits reflects the 'record number of cars and volume of traffic'.

"We welcome the fact that councils are increasingly investing in technology to help make parking easier and less stressful," he added.

Martin Tett, the Local Government Association's transport spokesman, said parking charges keep the roads clear, help keep pedestrians, motorists and cyclists safe and enable people to park near their homes.

They also go towards tackling the UK's £12bn roads repair backlog, he added.

The largest surpluses were seen in London with the 33 London boroughs making £379 million between them – 46 per cent of the English total.

Westminster had the largest surplus in England at £73.2 million, up 31 per cent on the previous year, while Kensington & Chelsea came second with £32.2 million (down 6 per cent) and Camden with £26.8 million (up 6 per cent).

The biggest profits outside of London were reported by Brighton & Hove (£21.2m), and Milton Keynes and Birmingham (£11.1m each).

An annual report from the Asphalt Industry Alliance this year found that almost a fifth of roads in England and Wales were in poor condition, with councils almost £730m short of what was needed to keep the road network in 'reasonable order'.