Parking is proving to be an essential part of local council funding.

Last year, new records were broken as councils looked to make up for central government funding.

Motorists are those who are driving the new income levels.

Parking prime

According to an analysis by the AA, councils in England collected just over £1 billion in parking fees and charges for the 2023/24 financial year.

New data released by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, shows that on-street parking raised £698.7 million across English councils, while off-street parking raised £340.4m.

This compares to £962.3m from parking in 2022/23, of which £673.1m came from on-street parking and £289.2m from off-street parking.

New levels

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy, said, “Councils have broken through the £1bn income barrier, showing just how vital a revenue stream is for them.

“With budgets stretched, local authorities will pull any lever available to bring cash into the town hall.

“The cost of parking, as well as ease of payment, has an impact on consumers and they will ‘vote with their wheels’ if they deem the price too expensive, or a hassle if they can only pay via an app or by phone.

“Now that a quarter of all retail sales are being made online, councils are seeing a drop in footfall to the High Street. In their quest to fill the coffers, they may end up driving their customers away.”