MORE THAN 3,000 fines for car parking were issued across Worcester in the past three months according to new research from comparethemarket.com.
A Freedom of Information request by revealed that 3,009 parking fines were issued between July and September this year.
One of the parking ‘black spots’ is the Silver Street car park, in Lowesmoor, which saw 134 fines issues to motorists.
The results saw Birmingham come on top with a total of 32,991 Penalty Charge Notices accumulating a revenue of more than £1,095,726
Next in line was Wolverhampton, which slapped 22,961 Penalty Charge Notices on vehicles and generated a revenue of more than £503,975 while Worcester was ranked sixth in the West Midlands for fines.
Paying up to £70 per ticket, more than 78,000 tickets have been issued in those three months across the top ten fining councils.
Simon McCulloch, director at comparethemarket.com, said: “Our parking fines hotspots have revealed that motorists need to be extra vigilant when it comes to something as simple as parking their vehicle correctly if they want to avoid a hefty fine.
“As we embark on the festive period and face unfamiliar roads to visit friends and family, motorists should pay close attention – street signs can often be discreet and easy to miss, but the information should be clearly stated, and parking payment meters never too far away.
“If you do find yourself with a PCN, it’s worth checking your ticket, as you can often reduce the fee by half, simply by paying it within seven or 14 days, depending on your local council.”
A city council spokesperson said: ““Worcester is a busy city with very high demand for a limited number of parking spaces.
“The City Council’s parking team works hard to ensure there is fair use of the available spaces by all drivers.
“If a parking space is being used but not paid for by a motorist, that means someone else can’t park there.
“Silver Street is a pay and display parking bay with 21 spaces. It is exceptionally busy and, as with all our car parks and parking bays, we do give drivers a short period of grace before issuing a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) if they stay for a longer period than they have paid for.”
Visit www.comparethemarket.com/car-insurance/content/parking-fines/ for more information.
