11:00pm Thursday 22nd October 2009
By Andy Chiles
City drivers pay more than £40,000 to park every day –and the amount is rising.
New figures have revealed Brighton and Hove City Council is raking in a record amount through parking charges, more than even its own staff had been expecting.
The council announced this week that its income from fees and fines for on-street parking was already £100,000 higher than predicted after just six months of the financial year.
Revenue from its 13 car parks was £50,000 above predictions.
The soaring income follows a record-breaking year in 2008/9 during which the council raked in £15.8 million through parking charges and fines, equivalent to £43,287 each day or £63 a year each for every one of the city's 250,000 residents.
It made a profit of £7.4 million That amount was a £1.2 million leap from the £6.2 million and £13.9 million income generated in 2007/8.
The rocketing figures have followed increases in prices for residents' permits, car park and pay-and-display tickets implemented in April.
Details of the above-predicted income has come at a time when hundreds more people are having to pay to park in their own streets because of extensions to controlled zones around the Preston Park area and in East Brighton.
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.theargus.co.uk/trade_directory/