Ipswich motorists racked up nearly three quarters of a million pounds in parking fines last year, we can reveal.
Council chiefs issued nearly £700,000 in penalties over the past year – with motorists ordered to fork out £2,000 per day, according to data obtained by a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.
Between August 31, 2017 and September 1, 2018, Ipswich Borough Council (IBC) handed out just short of 20,000 penalty charge notices – at a cost of £697,305, or £1,910 per day.
The top five most ticketed streets were Old Foundry Road, Fonnereau Road, Cromwell Square, Cardinal Street and Christchurch Street – amassing 2,647 penalty charges, worth £92,645, between them.
People accused of parking illegally on Old Foundry Road alone were slapped with 832 fines, worth £29,120 – nearly double that of Fonnereau Road, where 482 penalty notices were issued at a cost of £16,870.
Three of the five streets are in the town centre – where IBC councillor for the Alexandra ward, John Cook, said there were ample car parks available.
“Alexandra ward includes the whole of the town centre, so it comes as no surprise that there are more tickets issued in streets in my ward than anywhere else in the town,” he said.
“My advice to people who are issued with tickets is ‘park legally’. The borough council operates a number of good value car parks.
“Three of these – Regent Theatre car park, William Street car park and the newly opened Crown car park are just a short walk from Old Foundry Road.”
What do the council have to say?
An IBC spokesman said that, while charges totalled nearly £700,000, the council did not necessarily receive that amount – as some fines may be appealed or go unpaid.
He added that part of the money raised in fines is retained by the council to help fund its parking enforcement officers and any surplus is used for traffic-related work.
Commenting on the data, the spokesman said: “We only issue parking penalty notices when motorists park illegally.
“Park legally and you won’t pay a penalty – it is as simple as that.
“We want people to park sensibly and legally and to keep roads free from obstruction.
He added: “We have thousands of council car parking spaces in and around the town centre offering good value for residents and visitors to use.”
How was the data calculated?
The FOI officer for IBC clarified that the amount due when a penalty charge notice is issued differs “depending upon the contravention that has occurred and when the penalty charge notice is settled”.
It is therefore difficult for the council to provide a definitive value of the fines issued.
In this case, the most common settlement amount of £35 has been used as an estimate figure.
While the top five roads listed amassed the most on-street parking fines, the total figure of £697,305 also includes penalty charge notices issued in residents’ parking zones and council-operated car parks such as Portman Road.
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