Shropshire Council takes in less cash from parking tickets

More than 10,700 parking tickets were issued across Shropshire in the last financial year, new figures showed today.

But the amount of cash Shropshire Council made from the tickets in the last financial year fell by about £11,000 on the previous year, with about 230 fewer tickets handed out in the period April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2011 compared with April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010.

Shropshire Council officials today said 10,772 Penalty Charge Notices were handed out in the last financial year, compared with 11,000 in 2009 to 2010.

No official figures are available for how much cash the tickets have brought in for the council but Dave Roberts, Shropshire Council's environmental enforcement manager, said on average each parking ticket brought in about £50 for the authority.

Based on that figure, the tickets would have been worth about £550,000 for 200 to 2010 and about £538,600 for 2010 to 2011, meaning the income fell by about £11,400 over the two years.

But Mr Roberts stressed that the final figure may be lower due to tickets being spoiled or cancelled following a successful appeal by motorists.

Mr Roberts said: "We have got to make sure that people come to Shropshire and enjoy it, but are parking safely and securely, and also don't have the worry of coming back to a parking ticket on their car."

Councillor Mal Price, portfolio holder for transport at Shropshire Council, today said the tickets were not about bringing in cash for the council but were about ensuring people parked safely.

He said: "It's not about making money and never has been.

"Under the old system I received numerous complaints with regard people getting a parking ticket which they thought was unfair.

"We want people to come back and back again but have to make sure people are parking safely and are not blocking any entrances or parking dangerously.

"We want car parking attendants to work with people and assist them."

Meanwhile, separate figures for the two financial years show that 58 fixed penalty notices, for littering and dog fouling, were issued in 2010 to 2011 compared with 14 in 2009 to 2010.

By John Kirk