Norfolk councils lobby Government to increase parking fines

The cost of a parking ticket in Norfolk could soon increase as councils bid for tougher enforcement measures.

Breckland Council is one of the authorities across the county lobbying the Government to raise fines in order to crack down on illegal parking.

Currently, tickets in Norfolk are issued at a maximum of £70 or £50, with the amount halved if paid quickly.

But bosses at Norwich City Council have called for fines to match those issued in London, which can be as much as £130.

The Norfolk Parking Partnership – a collaboration of county, city, district and borough councils – has now asked the Department for Transport to reconsider the Norfolk rates.

However, critics of these proposals have suggested the councils should be working together to improve enforcement, rather than “relying” on central government to increase the fines available to them.

Emma Hampton, deputy leader of Norwich City Council, said: “This is a problem where we need to look at both solutions and tackle from multiple angles.

“We’re looking for a review of what we can charge – in particular to those who are trying to play the system and are persistent offenders.”

More than 23,000 penalty charge notices were issued by council traffic wardens in the first half of the year to drivers who ignored restrictions, such as by parking on yellow lines, not buying pay and display tickets, staying too long in time-limited spaces or parking in a permit space without a permit.

New figures have revealed Colegate in Norwich, South Quay in King’s Lynn and King Street in Great Yarmouth are among the 10 streets where most fines were issued.

Norfolk Parking Partnership, of which City Hall, Norfolk County Council, South Norfolk, Broadland, Breckland, Great Yarmouth, West Norfolk and North Norfolk councils are all members, has written to the Department for Transport to request a review of parking fines but has yet to receive a response.