English councils make half a billion pound ‘profit’ from parking
Figures analysed by the RAC Foundation show the vast majority of local authorities in England generate a surplus from their parking activities.
In 2011-12, English councils had a total current account surplus of £565 million from their on and off street parking operations.
This figure is a £54 million increase on the £511 million surplus seen in 2010-11.
Even where huge ‘profits’ are absent, the picture is still largely one of surplus rather than deficit with just 52 (14%) of the 359 councils reporting negative numbers.
And even after capital charges are taken into account, the combined surplus in 2011-12 was still £412 million.
(For the link to the full table of all councils please click here.)
The data, studied for the RAC Foundation by David Leibling, comes from the annual returns that councils make to the Department for Communities and Local Government.
The authority with the biggest income is Westminster Council in London which made a surplus of £41.6 million in 2011-12. Only Brighton and Hove, and Cornwall councils break into a top ten dominated by London authorities.
