Kirklees Council raked in £2m from parking fees

The council made the money from on and off-street parking, according to a survey carried out by the RAC Foundation.

The figure - £2,043,000 - was calculated after the RAC combined the income from parking charges and penalty notices and then deducted the running costs.

Kirklees ranked 81st out of 353 local authorities in the survey for money made from parking charges.

The figure is a £550,000 increase on the previous year’s total of £1,5m

And across Yorkshire, Leeds City Council brought in the most money - £6.8m - through parking charges and Wakefield Council made £1.18m.

RAC Foundation director Professor Stephen Glaister said that, across the country, an increase in parking profits had come not from extra income in penalties but from savings in how parking operations are run.

He said: “This suggests local authorities are making efficiency savings and should bring some good news to both drivers and council tax payers.”

“We understand the pressures councils are under with their overall income still falling and the level of services they have to provide in such areas as social care rising rapidly.

“The bottom line is that parking policy and charges must be about managing traffic not raising revenue.”

What do you think? Comment on the story below or send your letters to [email protected]