Cardiff Council issues one of the highest number of parking fines outside of London

Cardiff Council has issued some of the highest number of parking fines outside of London, new figures shows.

Figures obtained by Churchill Motor Insurance suggest fines were handed out by local authorities at an average of nearly 20,000 each day.

That is a 12% rise from the previous year.

The analysis is based on data provided by the 230 UK councils that responded to Freedom of Information requests.

Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), also known as parking fines, are issued when motorists break parking regulations, such as by parking on double yellow lines or on a single yellow line at a prohibited time.

Fines can be up to £130 in London or up to £70 outside the capital.

Wales' capital handed out some of the highest fines - a total of 279 - alongside Birmingham City Council and Southampton.

This increased revenues for councils to an estimated £777,287 per day last year, up £35,113 from 2021.

The penalty is usually halved if a driver pays within 14 days.

Islington Council in north London issued more fines than any other local authority, with a daily average of 1,012.

Nicholas Mantel, head of Churchill Motor Insurance, said: "Motorists across Britain are regularly being caught out by increased and sometimes complicated parking restrictions.

"We would encourage drivers to always check parking signs carefully to ensure they avoid any expensive fines.

"If motorists do receive a parking fine, they have 28 days to pay it or appeal to an independent tribunal."

A spokesperson for Cardiff Council said: “The council receives complaints everyday about people parking illegally, obstructing pavements and roads and in such a way as to pose a danger to the disabled, mothers with prams or buggies, and children crossing the road or on the way to school.  Fines are only issued to people where there's clear evidence that their parking is illegal and or done in a dangerous or hazardous way.

“Any surplus income generated from parking charges is transferred to a parking reserve account. This is then used to support public transport services, off-street parking and highway improvements in accordance with Section 55 of the Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984.

“The parking reserve account has helped to support a number of improvements including installing disabled bays; implementing the new 20mph areas in the city; keep clear zones by schools and safe access to school schemes; highway improvements and bus lanes; cycling partnerships; the operation to remove off road bikes from public land; upgrading car parks including pay and display facilities and ongoing maintenance of the Moving Traffic Offences Scheme.”

Furthermore, a spokesperson for the Local Government Association, who represent councils in England and Wales, said income raised through fines is spent on running parking services.

"Any surplus is spent on essential transport projects, including fixing the £11 billion road repairs backlog, reducing congestion, tackling poor air quality and supporting local bus services", it added.

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, argued parking rules should be "respected" but risks putting high streets at risk.

"Parking rules are there for a reason and should be respected but at a time when household budgets are under such pressure these numbers beg the obvious question of whether millions of drivers are really risking a big bill for poor parking, or whether over-enthusiastic parking enforcement is putting other objectives, like revitalising our post-pandemic high streets, at risk."

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