Drivers face £160 fines under new ‘double’ parking rules | UK | News
UK councils could be given the power to charge more than double parking charges under “crazy” plans reportedly being considered by the Labor Government. Ministers have been accused of “banning drivers” to raise revenue following a hearing outside London in which maximum parking fines were increased from £70 to £160. Proposals for widespread adoption of the change, following a month-long test run in Bournemouth, would bring areas outside London in line with the capital.
Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden warned the plans amounted to “poaching” drivers and criticized both Westminster and Bournemouth’s Liberal Democrat-run council. He told the Mail: “This is all about raising revenue and raiding drivers. Drivers deserve better than a clean pick on the basis of four weeks in Bournemouth. The Conservatives will always side with drivers. Labor and the Liberal Democrats will always find a new way to screw them over.” Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice also criticized the proposals, describing them as “a new tax on working in Britain”.
AA chief executive Edmund King similarly described plans to increase parking fees outside London, outstripping fines for thieves and vandals, as “crazy”.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council carried out the trial last August on a seven-mile stretch of coastline with 29 car parks and 543 lanes.
The local authority issued PCNs worth £160 to thousands of motorists as part of the scheme; reduced to £110 for lesser offences; Fines were halved if paid within two weeks. While drivers are charged a maximum of £70, it drops to £50 under the current limit.
BCP Council said the change “makes roads safer, reduces congestion and improves accessibility” in the seaside area and shows that “higher PCN levels can effectively increase compliance”.
Responding to a question in Parliament last month, transport minister Simon Lightwood said the Department for Transport (DfT) was “reviewing the findings” of the trial.
A representative from the Local Government Association said it “supports” the Government’s intention to review the cap. They added: “Fines outside London have remained the same since 2008. In many places this may be unfair, reckless and a less effective deterrent to illegal parking.”
Fuel duty has been frozen since 2011 and will be cut by 5p in 2022 in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But in last year’s budget, Ms Reeves said the 5p cut would be removed between September 2026 and March 2027.
Analysis by the motoring research charity RAC Foundation estimates that the increase in pump prices since the start of the Iran conflict on February 28 has led to motorists paying an additional £1.5bn and half a billion more for petrol.
A spokesman for the DfT said there were “no plans” to increase the PCN limit outside London. They added: “We are a Government that is firmly on the side of motorists and we expect councils to use PCNs only as a deterrent to breaking the law and not as a way to raise money.”
