Council cash bid targets motorists
News Shopper
By Chris Johnson
MOTORISTS are more likely to be hit with parking fines after town hall chiefs announced they are looking for more traffic wardens.
Last week, News Shopper reported how Greenwich Council is trying to increase its income as part of plans to save £25m over the next four years.
Highways chiefs have identified six parking zones where they estimate £233,000 per year can be made by increasing traffic wardens to dish out 55,000 tickets - 6,000 more than than last year.
As well as targeting these six zones, the council also wants more wardens patrolling the streets after encountering recruitment problems in recent years.
This year there are plans to recruit two more wardens to add to the current 23.
A spokesman said: "Greenwich issues a relatively low number of penalties compared with some more inner London boroughs.
"In the last couple of years, there have been problems in recruiting parking attendants and the number of penalties issued has reduced as a result.
"That problem is now being corrected and this figure (of £233,000) represents the expected income from additional penalties issued by the attendants."
But critics have expressed alarm the council is openly admitting to using parking fines as a way to generate cash.
Greenwich Society spokesman Ray Smith said: "If people break parking laws then, yes, they should pay a fine.
"But I find the concept of target-driven cash generation a little difficult to understand.
"I thought revenue from parking fines is based on how many people flout the rules, so how can the council guess how much money it can make in advance?"
WHERE TO WATCH OUT
The six zones identified and how much is expected to be made in parking fines:
Charlton Westcombe Park: £70k
Outside zones: £13k
Eltham Station: £40k
Woolwich on street: £30k
Plumstead Station: £10k
Greenwich controlled parking zone: £20k
10:23am Monday 4th December 2006
By Chris Johnson
MOTORISTS are more likely to be hit with parking fines after town hall chiefs announced they are looking for more traffic wardens.
Last week, News Shopper reported how Greenwich Council is trying to increase its income as part of plans to save £25m over the next four years.
Highways chiefs have identified six parking zones where they estimate £233,000 per year can be made by increasing traffic wardens to dish out 55,000 tickets - 6,000 more than than last year.
As well as targeting these six zones, the council also wants more wardens patrolling the streets after encountering recruitment problems in recent years.
This year there are plans to recruit two more wardens to add to the current 23.
A spokesman said: "Greenwich issues a relatively low number of penalties compared with some more inner London boroughs.
"In the last couple of years, there have been problems in recruiting parking attendants and the number of penalties issued has reduced as a result.
"That problem is now being corrected and this figure (of £233,000) represents the expected income from additional penalties issued by the attendants."
But critics have expressed alarm the council is openly admitting to using parking fines as a way to generate cash.
Greenwich Society spokesman Ray Smith said: "If people break parking laws then, yes, they should pay a fine.
"But I find the concept of target-driven cash generation a little difficult to understand.
"I thought revenue from parking fines is based on how many people flout the rules, so how can the council guess how much money it can make in advance?"
WHERE TO WATCH OUT
The six zones identified and how much is expected to be made in parking fines:
Charlton Westcombe Park: £70k
Outside zones: £13k
Eltham Station: £40k
Woolwich on street: £30k
Plumstead Station: £10k
Greenwich controlled parking zone: £20k
10:23am Monday 4th December 2006
posted by Neil Herron at 2:01 PM
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