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Council cash from parking fines drops: Tougher enforcement as system is privatised
A TOTAL of £2.6 million was raised from council parking charges and fines last year.
That is 200,000 less than when the council took over parking enforcement three years ago.
The number of motorists issued with parking fines has also fallen by more than a quarter from 18,695 to 13,561.
That combination of falling income, reduced enforcement and difficulties in recruiting parking wardens persuaded Calderdale Council to privatise the system.
Since the end of March, Vinci Park Services, of Watford, has been providing patrols and managing parking enforcement.
According to the council: "Vinci's locally recruited workforce is highly trained to fully understand their responsibilities and to relate to members of the community in an exemplary manner."
It says working with Vinci should reduce congestion, improve pedestrian access and provide a quick response to parking problems.
The council continues to consider appeals and representations from motorists who have been fined and collects all income.
Importantly, Vinci employees are not on commission or bonuses and there are no quotas or targets for issuing fines.
"Our team will be very much part of the Calderdale community and will benefit from our award winning training to ensure that they are able to provide local residents with the best possible customer service," said Vinci chief executive, Mark Evans.
Calderdale Council's portfolio holder for economy and environment, Amanda Byrne, said Vinci was not just providing a valuable service by alleviating parking problems.
"They will become familiar faces in our community, an extra pair of eyes and a helping hand to help reduce the fear of crime and anti-social behaviour in Calderdale."
Latest figures from the council show that income from on street parking charges has risen slightly in the past three years from 809,426 to 819,923 but there has been a fall in off-street income from 1,271,441 to 1,151,326.
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Thursday 09 February 2012
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