Motorists pay £38 daily for council parking on average

Drivers are spending £2 billion a year on council parking - the equivalent of £38 per day per motorist - new figures show.

Parking charges are set to rise again this month to help raise revenue and tackle inflation, in some areas by as much as 60 per cent.

According to statistics from the Department for Levelling Up, motorists paid £1.93 billion in fees and fines in the year to April 2023, up from £1.76 billion the previous year. Around 50 million people hold a driving licence in the UK.

Councils imposing steep rises have been accused of deterring tourists and squeezing small local businesses by putting off shoppers who decide it is easier and cheaper to shop online.

In Kirklees, the West Yorkshire council for Huddersfield, Holmfirth and Dewsbury said short-stay parking fees would increase from 70p an hour to £1.10 per hour this month.

Fees in Dewsbury and other areas of Kirklees would also go up from 5p to 50p per hour.

Long-stay parking across the borough as a whole would increase from £4 all day to £6.50 all day.

In East Grinstead in the south of England, parking charges are going up by almost 30 per cent while North Yorkshire Council will be increasing its parking charges by 20 per cent from April 19.

In London, a public consultation process is currently underway to consider whether parking penalties should rise from £160 on roads managed by Transport for London and £130 on borough roads.

The Local Government Association, which represents councils in England and Wales, told the Sunday Times: “Income raised through parking charges is spent on running parking services.

“Any surplus is spent on essential transport projects, including fixing the £16 billion road repairs backlog, reducing congestion, tackling poor air quality and supporting local bus services.

“Motorists can avoid fines by ensuring they observe parking and traffic rules that are only there to help all drivers get around and find parking safely, smoothly and fairly.”