Milton Keynes parking profits among the highest in England

That is according to analysis by the RAC Foundation which shows councils across the country are making hundreds of millions from parking activities.

The motoring research group said parking “is quite a money spinner” for some councils, but the Local Government Association says any surplus is spent on essential transport projects.

Milton Keynes Council made £10.52 million in profit from parking services in 2019-20 – among the most of 338 authorities included in the research.

But this was down from £12.09 million the previous year, and £10.76 million in 2015-16.

Milton Keynes Council said the large sum was a result of having many more council-owned spaces than other areas.

“Unlike other areas, MK has more than 21,000 council-owned car park parking spaces, so it's not a straightforward comparison," a spokesman for MK Council said.

"The money raised from parking goes towards passenger transport and highway improvements.”

Across England, councils made a combined profit of £891 million from parking activities in 2019-20 – down 5% from £934 million a year earlier.

They received an income of £1.7 billion from their parking operations and spent £854 million running them, the figures show, although interest payments or depreciation of assets such as car parks are not included.

The surplus for the latest year was up from £750 million in 2015-16.

“Parking management is quite a money spinner for some local authorities, and nationally it is a big business,” said RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding.

“The surplus for 2019-20 is down a little on the year before which may in part reflect the impact of the first Covid lockdown which saw traffic levels plummet at the end of last March.

“The dip is likely to be much deeper for the current financial year given the range of restrictions over the past 12 months and the Government’s current plea that we should all stay at home if we can.

“Going forward there are likely to be many councils who are actually looking to cut parking charges as a way of encouraging more people to visit their high streets which are fighting for survival.”

The analysis is based on data from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

It reveals the vast majority of the 338 councils who returned figures reported a surplus on their parking operations.

Many of the highest totals were seen in London, with Westminster having the largest (£69.61 million) followed by Kensington and Chelsea (£38.84 million) and Camden (£28.99 million).

The highest takings outside the capital were reported by Brighton and Hove (£24.76 million).

David Renard, transport spokesman for the Local Government Association, said councils have to ensure spaces are available for drivers to keep traffic moving and avoid dangerous obstructions in the roads.

“With an increase of 10 million cars on the road in the last 20 years, this has become increasingly challenging for councils.

“Income raised through on-street parking charges and parking fines is spent on running parking services.

“Any surplus is spent on essential transport projects, including fixing potholes and tackling congestion, but it would take more than a decade and £10 billion to tackle our current roads repair backlog.”