The council made over £2.5m from parking fees last year - although many other boroughs cash in more on motorists.

Croydon Council made £2.580million profit from parking - including from penalty charges, car parks, permits and on-street parking charges - in 2012/13.

The figure puts it at 58 in the top 100 councils' in the country in terms of how much it made, but leaves it a long way short of the most profitable areas - the top earner, Westminster, raked in more than £39million in profit from motorists.

Croydon Council's income from parking dropped from £6.379million in 2009/10 to £4.466million in 2010/11. In 2011/12 the figure fell to 2.129million but it has risen in the last year.

Neighbouring Sutton Council made almost £2million last year, with the amount made rising steadily in the past three years from £1.364million in 2009/10.

Overall, councils' parking profits across the country have increased by five per cent in the last year prompting criticism from motorists' group the RAC.

Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said: "It is a case of déjà vu. Once again English councils have made record amounts from parking. Yet overall spending on local roads has fallen by nine percent over the past three years with road safety expenditure down by as much as 20%.

"It might be that some of the extra ‘profit’ has arisen because councils’ costs for running parking services have been reduced but drivers need to know this.

"There’s no disputing the figures we have looked at. They are the numbers the councils themselves submit to central government. What’s more, council budgets show that the surplus for the current year is set to be higher still."

 

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