Manchester City Council made more than £13 MILLION in parking charges from people across the city last year.
The amount is now greater than pre-pandemic levels as English local authorities earned a profit of £962.3 million in total between April 2022 and 2023. This was made up from £673.1m from on-street parking and £289.2m from off-street parking. The previous financial year , when lockdowns were in force, saw profits fall to £317.6m. In 2018-19, councils in England enjoyed a surplus of £936.1m, made up of £572.5 million from on-street parking and £363.
Councils set their own charges for parking in different areas of each borough, and there are some exceptions such as for blue badge holders. According to data from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, profits from parking charges around the region last year were as follows: “While the Covid fallout, such as people working from home, and the economic downturn are factors in the decline, hikes in parking charges by councils have contributed and helped to drive more shoppers online. In effect, many local authorities are killing the goose that lays the golden egg.”