‘We do not make a profit from parking’

Drivers across our district forked out £5,964,000 to park their cars in both on-street and off-street car parks.

According to the RAC Foundation, councils in England are making record surpluses from their parking activities. After running costs, Kirklees Council received £1,493,000 for the 2012/13 financial year, bringing the total over the past three years to £6.9m.

The 353 authorities generated a combined “profit” of £594m from their parking operations last year. This was a 5 per cent increase on the 2011/12 figures.

But chairman of the Local Government Association’s economy and transport board Peter Box defended the figures.

He said: “Councils do not make a profit from parking. All income from charges and fines is spent on running parking services and any surplus goes on essential transport projects such as bringing our dilapidated road network up to scratch and providing subsidised bus travel for children or elderly residents.”