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Parking charges are providing huge cash surpluses for some English councils, according to the RAC Foundation. England’s 359 councils have reported surplus of £565m from on and off-street parking schemes for 2011-12.


Eight of the biggest 10 surpluses came from London councils with Westminster leading the way with a £41.6m profit. Westminster City Council disputed many of the figures but said it would work with motorists to reduce fines.


The other two councils outside London making the top 10 were Brighton and Hove in sixth with £14.4m and Cornwall in eighth with £7.9m.


The total profit represented a £54m increase on the surplus from 2010-11 and only 52 of the councils reported a deficit on their 2011-12 parking operations. The RAC Foundation figures, produced for them by transport consultant David Leibling, are from the annual returns councils are required to provide to the Department for Communities and Local Government.


The running costs of parking operations are deducted from income which is made up of charges and fines to produce the surplus or deficit figure. Transport minister Norman Baker said: "The law is quite clear. Councils should not be pricing their parking in order to


Parking charges swell council’s bank accounts “Any monies raised from


make a profit.


parking in excess of the cost of administration has to go back to transport purposes which can be dealing with potholes, improved road management or can be investing in public transport to encourage people to free up the roads.


Subtracting the money spent by councils on capital projects - such as fixing potholes or traffic schemes - the surplus for 2011- 12 stands at the “still very large figure” of £412m, a spokesman for the RAC Foundation said. Details of what the money is spent on is not provided to the Department for Communities and Local Government, he added. While disputing some of the figures, Westminster City Council still signalled its intention to work with road users to reduce fines. Councillor Daniel Astaire,


Westminster City Council cabinet member for business, said: “The system is already changing and councils are already looking to work with motorists to issue fewer fines and crucially increase the amount of people parking correctly.


“If we stay in this Jurassic age of pure rhetoric about cash cows and money making, innovation will be stifled and we cannot engage motorists properly in order to find the best solutions that will benefit everyone.”streets to allow free parking.


Swings and roundabouts for the chancellor


Pump price stability in June restored petrol demand to a level of normality AA research has uncovered. It gave the Treasury a £25 million fuel duty boost compared to May.


Latest HM Revenue and Customs figures show that,in June UK drivers bought 1.603 billion litres of petrol, providing £929 million in fuel duty to the Treasury. This compares with 1.560 billion litres in May, that produced £904 million in duty. Throughout June, the UK’s average price of petrol held at around 134.6p a litre. Although panic buying, resulting from the threat of a tanker driver’s dispute had propelled UK petrol demand in


April 2012 up to 1.680 billion litres, the last time normal UK petrol sales were above 1.603 billion litres was November 2011 (1.641 billion litres, generating £951 million in fuel duty). Two huge 8p to 10p petrol price


swings in March and October 2012 sank UK petrol demand to 1.479 billion litres and 1.536 billion litres respectively. The March spike raised the UK average price of petrol to the current all-time record of 142.48p a litre.


One thing that becomes clear from all this number crunching is that raising the cost of fuel does not necessarily mean more money for the treasury, at least not in the short term. people do drive less as fuel prices rise.


Southend bikers mad about loss of parking provision


Bikers in Southend are up in arms over a council decision to remove the motorcycle parking from the waterfront.


The parking regulations are being enforced with a zero tolerance policy from wardens that is causing considerable angst. The council claim that parking in that location poses a road safety hazard for pedestrians. The council argue that there is adequate motorcycle parking in other parts of the town but parking on the waterfront has long been a tradition in the town


where the high profile location is convenient and enhances riders’s sense of security. Certainly it would be a foolhardy thief who would try stealing a bike in full public view with many bikers around.


MAG is championing the issue and has contacted the council in an effort to persuade officials to reinstate the parking provision. Southend has for many years been a destination for London riders enjoying an easy day’s ride out and is often referred to as ‘London on Sea.’


Cycling group concerned about court decisions


The justice system is failing cyclists according to cycling group CTC. A spokesman was reported as saying. “We are sick of hearing stories of inadequate road crash investigations, we are tired of bad drivers being charged with careless driving when their driving is obviously dangerous and we are outraged that bad drivers are constantly let off by the courts with derisory sentences or nothing at all.”


8 The ROAD CTC is launching the ‘Road


Justice Campaign’ to make the justice system take bad driving seriously. CTC’s Road Justice campaign aims to press the police, the prosecution services and the courts to treat bad driving with the severity it warrants. CTC demand that police investigate road traffic collisions thoroughly and keep victims properly informed.


Road comment: Does any of this sound familiar?


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