By Phil Coleman

Published at 11:43, Wednesday, 09 January 2013

COUNCIL-run car parking services in Carlisle and Allerdale saw a dramatic fall in the amount of cash they generated last year.

Statistics revealed that both district councils last year experienced a sharp drop in the cash generated by off-street and on-street parking.

In Allerdale, the amount raised fell to £506,00, compared to £824,000 in 2010-11.

In Carlisle, the amount generated by parking last year fell to £668,000, compared to £784,000 the previous year.

The most recent figure includes £63,459 recovered from parking fines issued for off street parking and £299,943 in fines recovered for the county council for on street parking infringements.

“All surplus money generated for the city council is reinvested in services,” said a spokeswoman.

The figures stand in sharp contrast to those for Copeland Council, which was the only north Cumbrian district council to not generate a surplus income from parking.

The authority last year made a loss of £178,000 on parking services, compared to a loss the previous year of £110,000 – though officials said that a planned increase in charges means Copeland’s parking facilities should this year generate an estimated additional £59,000.

The authority has 10 pay and display car parks and 18 which are free.

The parking income figures were released by the Institute of Advanced Motorists, which said councils in England made over £411 million in parking charges last year – an increase of 14.9 per cent.

At the same time, says the institute, the amount spent by councils across England on road safety and road safety education decreased by 18 per cent, from £127.5m to £105m.

No confirmed figure was available for Copeland at the time of going to press.

A spokesman for Eden Council said that the figures quoted by the institute were wrong and he was unable to get the correct figures at the time of going to press.

PColeman@cngroup.co.uk

Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk