Londoners set to benefit most from parking ticket “grace period”
Driving in London is often described as something akin to a nightmare – from traffic jams, to sky-high parking prices and pushy motorists. But there's finally a bit of good news for the capital's understandably frazzled drivers.
Drivers will get a ten-minute window after a council parking ticket runs out before they can be fined as a result of a new law coming in next week. Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said he wanted to end the "war on drivers".
Individuals living or commuting into the capital are likely to be the biggest benefactors of the nationwide change. This is because, as research by the RAC Foundation shows, London boroughs make the most from parking income and penalties.
Forty per cent of parking income is made in the city despite the fact Londoners own ten per cent of the UK's cars. However, it's also likely that commuters, who commute into London for work or a day out, also contribute.
Of the top 30 income makers, 21 are London boroughs (of 33 London boroughs in total).
| 2011/12 | 2010/11 | 2009/10 | Change (%) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Westminster | 80.0 | 84.3 | 83.4 | -4% |
| 2 | Kensington & Chelsea | 42.8 | 36.5 | 37.6 | 14% |
| 3 | Camden | 39.3 | 39.2 | 41.0 | -4% |
| 4 | Hammersmith & Fulham | 31.1 | 28.3 | 24.9 | 25% |
| 5 | Wandsworth | 27.0 | 25.2 | 24.2 | 12% |
| 6 | Islington | 26.1 | 24.2 | 29.0 | -10% |
| 7 | Lambeth | 25.1 | 24.3 | 44.0 | -43% |
| 8 | Brighton & Hove UA | 23.6 | 23.1 | 21.6 | 9% |
| 9 | Ealing | 20.0 | 14.5 | 14.0 | 42% |
| 10 | Birmingham | 18.7 | 17.7 | 19.2 | -2% |
| 11 | Tower Hamlets | 17.5 | 16.8 | 16.5 | 6% |
| 12 | Newham | 17.2 | 13.1 | 12.1 | 42% |
| 13 | Brent | 16.9 | 13.7 | 14.8 | 14% |
| 14 | Hackney | 15.3 | 16.5 | 13.2 | 16% |
| 15 | Haringey | 14.8 | 13.0 | 12.0 | 24% |
| 16 | Cornwall UA | 14.0 | 13.9 | 13.9 | 1% |
| 17 | Barnet | 14.0 | 9.2 | 10.3 | 35% |
| 18 | Newcastle upon Tyne | 13.9 | 12.5 | 13.5 | 3% |
| 19 | Manchester | 13.7 | 12.5 | 11.1 | 24% |
| 20 | Leeds | 13.0 | 11.7 | 12.0 | 8% |
| 21 | Hounslow | 12.2 | 11.2 | 10.6 | 15% |
| 22 | Croydon | 11.9 | 14.6 | 16.0 | -25% |
| 23 | City of London | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.3 | 20% |
| 24 | Southwark | 10.9 | 11.9 | 11.2 | -3% |
| 25 | Bristol UA | 10.8 | 9.9 | 9.7 | 11% |
| 26 | Enfield | 10.8 | 10.9 | 13.0 | -17% |
| 27 | Bath & North East Somerset UA | 10.7 | 12.3 | 11.4 | -6% |
| 28 | Guildford | 10.7 | 10.1 | 9.4 | 13% |
| 29 | Waltham Forest | 10.4 | 9.3 | 9.9 | 4% |
| 30 | Bromley | 10.3 | 10.0 | 9.5 | 9% |