Councils' parking profits soar
London's boroughs made a massive £218 million in profit from parking last year - up almost 18% from the previous year.
London's boroughs made a massive £218 million in profit from parking last year - up almost 18% from the previous year.
While many councils are enjoying increased profits from parking, they are spending less elsewhere in the community. The Institute of Advanced Motorists - who collated councils' parking profits - calculate that:
Spending on road safety, education and safe routes to schools fell by 18% to £105m.
Spending on highways and transport fell by 6% between 2010/11 and 2011/12, while expenditure on construction, reduced by an estimated 13%.
A Department for Communities and Local Government report last year estimated that spending on highways and transport will fall by a further 11% over 2012/133.
IAM Chief Executive Simon Best said:
“Councils are making record-breaking profits from parking, while cutting road safety spending on life-saving services such as, education for young drivers, cycle training, and safe routes to schools schemes.
“At the same time cuts to road maintenance will mean a backlog of repairs which will simply cost more to fix in the long term.”
The 20-year-old was found fatally wounded on Roth Walk, near Finsbury Park, north London at around 3am on Saturday, Scotland Yard said.
Police have arrested a man wanted in connection with a burglary at the home of pensioner Richard Osborn-Brooks.
The rally comes after it emerged that the Home Office destroyed thousands of landing cards documenting the arrival of windrush-era migrants