The Midlands councils collecting most money from parking charges in England

Credit: PA

The surplus produced from council parking operations in England rose by 9% over the past year, according to a new study.

The biggest amounts outside of London were reported by Brighton and Hove (£20.1 million), with Nottingham in second place (£13.6 million) and Milton Keynes in third ($10.8 million).

The figure for Nottingham was significantly influenced by income of approximately £9 million from the city's controversial workplace parking levy,through which firms are charged a fee for having more than 10 parking spaces.

It was introduced in 2012 to cut traffic and reduce pollution, but its opponents claim it is anti-business.

The figure was calculated by taking income from parking charges and penalty notices and then deducting running costs.

Income was up 4% and costs fell by 2% in the past year.

It represents a 9% leap on the 2014/15 surplus of £693 million, and is 34%higher than in 2011/12.

These are the councils outside of London with the largest surpluses from parking operations in England, according to the RAC Foundation:

  • Brighton and Hove (£20.1 million)

  • Nottingham (£13.6 million)

  • Milton Keynes (£10.8 million)

  • Birmingham (£9.8 million)

  • Cornwall (£9.8 million)

  • Manchester (£8.9 million)

  • Bristol (£7.7 million)

RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said: