Car parks make £1.7million for Wychavon - The Evesham Observer

Car parks make £1.7million for Wychavon

Evesham Editorial 16th Dec, 2016   0

WYCHAVON District Council pocketed a £1.7million profit from parking charges in 2015/16 according to new figures.

Freedom of Information requests by the RAC Foundation revealed a staggering £756 million was raked in by the 353 local authorities in England from their on and off-street parking activities over a 12 month period.

A total of £1,749,000 was collected by Wychavon parking chiefs from car parks including those in Evesham and Pershore, up from £1,654,000 in 2014/15.

The district council was 111st on the list for profits made only behing neighbouring Worcester City Council which recorded the highest profit in Worcestershire with a profit of just over £2million from parking charges in 2015/16.




The figures are calculated by taking income from parking charges and penalty notices minus running costs and were sourced from the annual returns councils make to the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “Parking charges are one of the tools councils use to keep traffic moving whilst also allowing people reasonable and affordable access to high street shops and other facilities.


“The good news is that any profit generated by councils from on-street parking must by law be spent on transport-related activities, and as every motorist knows there’s no shortage of work that needs doing.”

“These numbers might seem eye-wateringly large, but in part they reflect the growing competition for space in many of our towns and cities.

“In 1995 there were only 21.4 million cars on Britain’s roads, today there are 30.7 million.

In response, Vic Allison, deputy managing director of Wychavon District Council, said: “Our parking charges compare favourably with other councils both locally and in the region.

“All of the political parties on the council have committed to a freeze in parking charges until 2019 at the least.”

Buy Photos

Buy photos online from the Evesham Observer newspaper.

Online Editions

Catch up on your local news by reading our e-editions on the Evesham Observer.

Public Notices

View and download all of the public notices in the Evesham Observer.

Reader Travel

Check out all of the latest reader travel offers to get your hands on some free gifts.