The surplus produced from council parking operations in England has reached a record high of more than three quarters of a billion pounds.
In the 2015/16 financial year the 353 local authorities in England generated a combined ‘profit’ of £756 million from their on- and off-street parking activities.
This is a 9% leap on the 2014/15 figure of £693 million, and 34% higher than five years ago.
Although not all individual councils made a large surplus on their parking activities just 49 (14%) reported negative numbers.
The figures are calculated by taking income from parking charges and penalty notices and then deducting running costs.
The overall rise in profits is a combination of increasing income (4% up on the previous financial year) and decreasing costs (2% down on the previous financial year).
The data – analysed for the RAC Foundation by transport consultant David Leibling – comes from the statutory annual returns that councils make to the Department for Communities and Local Government.
