Stafford parking fines total tops £180k in a year

The borough council has been carrying out parking enforcement on behalf of Staffordshire County Council since 2007 and raised £183,712 in fines with a surplus of more than £29,000.

A meeting of the council's joint parking committee also revealed a total of 10,492 penalty charge notices were handed out through the borough in 2013/14.

Stafford's parking manager Steve Allen said: "The measures in place seem to be working because the number of tickets issued is 10 per cent less than last year.

"There are guidelines and sometimes because of the signage and contravention there are fines, and in the last year a total of £183,712 fines have been recovered."

Figures reveal the number of drivers being fined in the last year has fallen from 11,633 down to 10,492, a reduction of 10 per cent. Councillor Frances Beatty said the work of traffic wardens should be commended as a result. She added: "We can see from these successful reports that traffic wardens are doing a good job.

"They are extremely responsible if they see someone about to park in an unsuitable space and they tell them and move them on rather than issuing them with a fine."

The borough has been carrying out parking enforcement on behalf of Staffordshire County Council since 2007.

But the contract comes to an end in March 2015 and the future of how parking restrictions are enforced is now in doubt because of county council delays in deciding on a new contract.

After two years of talks, the council has not decided on any new arrangement.

Councillor Beatty said she was concerned about the lack of progress.

The county council will review its parking enforcement in the summer.