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Related Tags: Parking Fine, Parking Ticket, Council, Profit, Road Safety, Parking, Yorkshire, Essex, Craig Breen, Traffic Wardens
Council parking fines up 15 per cent while spending on road safety down 18 per cent
YORKSHIRE'S councils have the greediest parking wardens in England, after new government statistics revealed a 43 per cent increase in revenue from parking fines in the area.In a report by the Department of Communities and Local Government, councils in Yorkshire and Humber were reported as making £28.8m in 2012, compared to £20.1m the previous year. Meanwhile, the East of England including Essex saw one third of its revenue drop off, earning £9.6m from parking fines in comparison to £14.1m in 2011.
Councils are cashing in on the increasing number of premium parking spaces across the country. But drivers are disgusted that wardens in the South East and London are earning thousands of pounds in additional income from commissions annually. The South East earned £60.5m compared to £48.9m in 2011, while in London - where finding a parking space is a nightmare - £217.5m was taken from driver's pockets, compared to £185.2m the previous year.
Brighton and Hove, which is run by the Green Party-led coalition, earned £13.9m in revenue from parking fines - up 19 per cent. In Newcastle, fines have more than doubled in a year to £6.1m. In London, Westminster, Kensington, Chelsea and Camden earned themselves a combined total of £91m.
Politicians have described it as "scandalous" and "criminal" that at the same time, council spending on improvements to road safety has reduced from £127.5m to £105m.
Overall, councils in England made £411m last year compared to £358m in 2011 and £322m in 2010.
At a time when poverty is at an all-time high in Britain, and with some council bosses earning more than the prime minister with unprecedented bonuses, it appears little is being done to tackle the threats of wardens slapping fines onto drivers many of whom are innocent or have simply gone over a parking time slot by a few minutes.
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