PARKING FINES COST COVENTRY £1m

COVENTRY City Council raked in more than £1million in parking tickets last year – but only pocketed £27,000.

And that money will be used to plug a deficit of thousands of pounds racked up during the set-up of the scheme.

A report, which is being presented to the council today, shows that between April 2008 and March 2009 traffic wardens issued nearly 31,000 tickets, generating £1,064,031.

But once costs, such as wages and overheads were paid off, the council was left with only £27,544.

Since the council took over parking enforcement from West Midlands Police in 2005, money paid in fines went towards set-up costs.

This is the first time the scheme has produced a surplus and should go into improving it.

But during the first three years the council ran up a debt of £437,000 and Councillor Hazel Noonan (Con, Cheylesmore) warned it would take a further three years to pay this off.

The portfolio holder for city services defended the scheme and said that it is helping to keep roads safer.

She added: “We want all roads in the city to be as safe as possible for drivers and we have seen an improvement.

“The extra money generated will be going towards paying off the deficit from the past few years.

“Now we have extra powers, such as putting more parking enforcement officers near the zigzags at schools, we are becoming more efficient.”

Currently, drivers must pay £70 for a serious parking offence, such as parking on double yellow lines or parking without a valid permit.

This charge is reduced to £35 if paid within 14 days.

The report also highlights possible plans to introduce CCTV to bus lanes across the city in a bid to catch motorists using it illegally.

“We know about the hot spots and want to make sure those areas are safer,” said Cllr Noonan.

“One of the issues is drivers using bus lanes.

“The police control the camera under the Whittle Arches but we’re hoping to take over and introduce more cameras.

“This is all about making sure our roads are safe.”

But Councillor Lindsley Harvard (Lab, Longford), shadow cabinet member for city services, said the scheme will only be value for money if it does deter “irresponsible motorists”.

He said: “The priority is to make sure there are no irresponsible drivers as I get so many complaints about reckless driving and parking.

“The council also needs to make sure that any surplus money made goes back into the scheme and isn’t used elsewhere.

“They also put in too many bus lanes around the city that aren’t needed and as a result we see an increase of people breaking the rules.”

Last November the Taxpayers’ Alliance revealed Coventry collected the most money in parking fines in the region.

Jennifer Dunn, policy analyst at the TA, said: “While the council has taken a huge amount in parking fines from motorists, the council is clearly running a very expensive parking enforcement system.

“Parking enforcement systems should be run in a fair manner and should not be used as a means to raise revenue.

“Fair enforcement systems will not place an unnecessary heavy burden on drivers and won’t produce such a waste of money, saving money for Coventry taxpayers.”

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