PARKING wardens in Salisbury dished out 5,068 parking tickets last year — with Wiltshire Council making a £4million surplus.

Figures obtained by the Journal show that Winchester Street was the most fined road in the city with 522 motorists slapped with tickets. The Maltings was the most fined car park, with 1,020 penalty noticed handed out followed by Brown Street West.

The standard penalty notice is £50 which is reduced to £25 if paid within 28 days.

In national figures collated by the RAC Foundation, for the last financial year 2013/14, Wiltshire Council had the 19th biggest surplus in the country — lagging some way behind the £52million raised by Westminster Council.

Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “We understand the pressures councils are under with their overall income still falling and the level of services they have to provide in such areas as social care rising rapidly. The bottom line is that parking policy and charges must be about managing traffic, not raising revenue.”

Motorists rejoiced on Monday following the relaxation of rules allowing them an extended grace period for parking.

Under the new regulations brought in by local government secretary Eric Pickles, English local councils have to allow people 10 minutes after the paid-for time to return to their vehicle before imposing a penalty charge notice — Wiltshire Council have already confirmed that they are going to extend this period to 15 minutes.

The move follows a ban on councils using CCTV for parking enforcement, which started on April 1. Cameras can now only be used to monitor bus lanes, bus stops or areas outside schools. Edmund King, AA president, said: “There wouldn’t have been a need for central government to interfere if all local authorities had exercised the discretionary approach to parking enforcement of old.

“For years, there has been very little ‘grace’ in council parking enforcement, only a culture of milking cash out of residents and visitors who rely on their cars at every opportunity. Parking tickets were supposed to be a deterrent to bad behaviour, not a fines harvest.”

Salisbury Journal: