Torbay Council made £3,097,000 ‘profit’ from parking in 2013/14 according to figures compiled by the RAC Foundation – the 54th largest amount of more than 350 local authorities in the country.
According to the RAC the amount Torbay has brought in from on-street and off-street parking has increased from £2,751,000 in 2010/11, although last year the council brought in £3,348,000.
The figures are taken from the data supplied by the city council to the Department of Communities and Local Government which are required to be submitted every year in November.
Devon County Council made only £1,592,000 ‘profit’ from parking last year, the 105th largest amount, but had one of the largest rises in profit of any council as last year their surplus was just £194,000.
Teignbridge Council made £2,046,000 ‘profit’, the 80th largest amount, rising from £1,789,000 from last year.
South Hams District Council made £1,539,000 ‘profit’, the 108th largest amount but suffered a loss of over £100,000 on last years surplus.
The RAC details the figure as surplus, or profit, after capital charges and expenditure and says it includes money brought in from penalty charges – parking tickets issued by enforcement officers.
The figures are calculated by adding up income from parking charges and penalty notices, then deducting running costs.
Across the country in 2013/14 authorities collected just over £1.43 billion from parking tickets, permits and penalties, spent just under £0.76 billion and made a surplus of nearly £0.67 billion – which the RAC Foundation says is a new record.
By law any surplus must be used for transport projects.
The RAC says that income from parking and charges has decreased – but local authorities have also dramatically cut their spending on on and off street parking which has resulted in increased surplus. Surplus is up 12 per cent across the country.
The largest surplus of any council across the country was in Westminster, who had a surplus of over £51million.