Number of parking fines issued in Huntingdonshire falls by a third

Drivers have paid out more than £500,000 to Huntingdonshire District Council in parking fines in the last three years, new figures have revealed.

Between January 2014 and March 30 this year, the authority handed out more than 15,500 tickets and collected a total of £511,000, paid for by drivers who had “contravened parking regulations” in its car parks and on-street spaces.

Figures also released, following a Freedom of Information Act (FOI) request by The Hunts Post, show that of the parking fines handed out from January 2014 to March 30 this year, more than 18 per cent of drivers who were issued tickets appealed.

According to the FOI request, more than 67 per cent of those appeals were upheld by the district council – a total of 1,948.

Officials at the authority say the fines paid by those drivers who had overstayed their ticket time or have failed to park properly are used to fund off-street parking throughout the district’s towns and villages.

The freedom of information request also highlighted the amount of parking fines handed out by council workers had actually decreased by more than 36 per cent between 2010 and 2016.

In 2010 parking wardens gave out 7,080 fines, compared with a relatively meagre 4,513 in 2016.

Neil Sloper, head of operations at the district council, said: “Whilst many factors may influence the reduction in the number of fines issued, it is welcomed as this can be related to an increase in compliance by the majority of motorists.

“Any revenue resulting from the payment of parking fines is retained to fund the provision of off-street car parking.”