Drive for more traffic wardens - with £120,000 fines target
ARECRUITMENT drive has been launched to find two new parking wardens to patrol the streets of North Somerset - with the expectation they will issue fines totalling £120,000.
North Somerset Council is recruiting for two parking enforcement officers to bring its contingent of staff up to a team of 11.
And although the authority says it does not issue its enforcement officers with targets for the number of tickets they issue, they expect next year’s revenue for fines and penalties to increase by £120,000.
The additional revenue is included in the council’s budget proposals for the financial year 2019/20.
The recruitment drive comes at the same time as it has been revealed that the authority’s parking enforcement officers issued 12,927 tickets between April and December last year - generating £405,000.
The wardens operate on three separate shifts and patrols run from 8am to 8pm seven days a week.
The wardens are employed right across the district, focusing mostly on town centres.
Council chiefs say that, once the full complement of staff is in place, it will allow more efficient enforcement of the parking regulations - and inevitably bring in more cash.
North Somerset Council spokesman Nick Yates said: “We currently have two vacancies for parking enforcement officers.
“Once we have recruited to fill those vacancies we will have a full complement of 11.
“This will mean the patrols they carry out will be more efficient and wide ranging.
“This will inevitably mean they will come across more parking infringements and issue more penalty notices.”
Parking wardens have been patrolling the streets since April 2017 when North Somerset
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Once we have recruited ... we will have a full complement of 11. This will mean the patrols they carry out will be more efficient and wide ranging. This will inevitably mean they will come across more parking infringements and issue more penalty notices.
Council spokesman Nick Yates
Council took over responsibility for controlled parking enforcement (CPE) from the police.
In the first year of the wardens being in place, the authority collected £1.328million - £625,000 which was in fines alone.
A total of £703,000 was generated from the on-street parking fees and meters.
The figure however does not include income generated from the council’s off-street car parks.
After the costs of running the scheme - such as paying for staff and the infrastructure needed - the council was £189,000 profit.
Council chiefs say all the money generated is reinvested into highways, such as car park improvements and road maintenance.
Mr Yates added: “The introduction was never a moneymaking scheme for the council - it’s about improving parking to ease congestion, leading to a higher turn-over of parking spaces making it easier for people to get about and park and improving access for emergency vehicles.” left with
People caught flouting regulations - such as overstaying in a timed bay or parking on double yellow lines - are hit with a £70 fine.
Under CPE there are two levels of charge - a higher and a lower depending on the type of contravention.
The Secretary of State decides which contraventions are at which levels and sets PCN costs.
For a higher level parking contravention, such as parking in a loading bay or in a designated space without a permit, comes with a £70 fine which is halved if paid within 14 days.
However this will rise to £105 if the fine remains unpaid and a charge certificate is issued.
A lower level contravention, such as not parking within the lines of a bay or overstaying in a timed bay, comes with a fine of £50 – reduced by 50 per cent if paid within 14 days.
The fine rises to £75 if not paid within the set time.