Surge in parking fines raises £468k in a year

Guildford Borough Council collected over £3.5million from penalty charge notices since 2018

Income generated from parking fines issued in one Surrey town has almost doubled in the last financial year.

Guildford Borough Council figures - obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service - showed parking fines raised £467,904 in the 12 months to April 2024, compared with £235,133 in the year-earlier period.

In all, over £3.5million has been collected from penalty charge notices (PCNs) in Guildford in the last six years.

A council spokesperson said: “As usage of our car parks has recovered since the pandemic, so has the number of motorists that do not to comply with the parking fees.”

PCNs are issued to motorists caught breaking parking rules and to those infringing traffic rules.

Guildford saw a doubling of parking-related PCNs being issued, to nearly 19,000 in 2023/24 compared with just over 9,000 in the prior 12 months.

Data provided by the council also revealed the top seven streets where the most PCNs have been issued since 2018 in Guildford - High Street, Bedford Road, Castle Street, Quarry Street, Woodbridge Road, North Street and Millmead.

Guildford High Street tops the list of roads where most motorists are fined

Surrey County Council took responsibility for road traffic enforcement in Guildford in 2023/24.

All income generated from PCNs goes into the council’s parking account, which is required by law to be spent on transport-related projects – including highways improvements and maintenance.

Guildford Borough Council said its enforcement staff are focused on non-compliance issues only in car parks as on-street parking enforcement is managed by Surrey County Council.

The spokesman said: "This helps to ensure that compliance levels are high and that the car parks are being managed for the benefit of those for whom the facilities are prioritised.”

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