Parking fine income due to decrease
Edgware and Mill Hill Times
By Lawrence Marzouk
The seemingly inexorable march of the parking fine has been halted in Barnet, it emerged this week, with the council announcing that earnings from fines will be £2.8 million less than expected.
In April 2005, the council said it expected to make £6.7m from parking in the borough in the year to March 2006, but it raised just £4.9m in that period.
Its prediction for money raised from fines during the current financial year up to the end of March 2007 has been set at just £3.9m.
But when this year's budget was set, council officers were expecting an income for the coming year of £4.9m, leaving them with a predicted £1m shortfall by March 2007.
Income from pay and display, permits and fines issued by CCTV cameras is in line with expectations, but it is the number of parking fines handed out which continues to fall, suggesting that fewer drivers are parking illegally, rather than car use reducing.
And according to informal briefings with other parking departments across London, it appears that the tide is turning across the capital, with residents becoming wise to the regulations.
Councillor Matthew Offord, cabinet member for environment and transport, said: "The reality is that we are issuing fewer tickets than last year so our projections for income have been reduced.
"Also, as part of our customer-focused parking review, we now allow people a five-minute grace period for over-staying on their pay and display tickets which is resulting in the issue of fewer PCNs (Penalty Charge Notices).
"I have always made it clear that this policy would mean a reduction in parking income but I balanced that against the fairness it promoted for the Barnet motorist.
"The reduction in predicted parking income demonstrates that this council has not engaged in the sharp practices seen elsewhere in London and that it is not a money-making service in Barnet."
By Lawrence Marzouk
The seemingly inexorable march of the parking fine has been halted in Barnet, it emerged this week, with the council announcing that earnings from fines will be £2.8 million less than expected.
In April 2005, the council said it expected to make £6.7m from parking in the borough in the year to March 2006, but it raised just £4.9m in that period.
Its prediction for money raised from fines during the current financial year up to the end of March 2007 has been set at just £3.9m.
But when this year's budget was set, council officers were expecting an income for the coming year of £4.9m, leaving them with a predicted £1m shortfall by March 2007.
Income from pay and display, permits and fines issued by CCTV cameras is in line with expectations, but it is the number of parking fines handed out which continues to fall, suggesting that fewer drivers are parking illegally, rather than car use reducing.
And according to informal briefings with other parking departments across London, it appears that the tide is turning across the capital, with residents becoming wise to the regulations.
Councillor Matthew Offord, cabinet member for environment and transport, said: "The reality is that we are issuing fewer tickets than last year so our projections for income have been reduced.
"Also, as part of our customer-focused parking review, we now allow people a five-minute grace period for over-staying on their pay and display tickets which is resulting in the issue of fewer PCNs (Penalty Charge Notices).
"I have always made it clear that this policy would mean a reduction in parking income but I balanced that against the fairness it promoted for the Barnet motorist.
"The reduction in predicted parking income demonstrates that this council has not engaged in the sharp practices seen elsewhere in London and that it is not a money-making service in Barnet."
posted by Neil Herron at 11:53 AM
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