TEST Valley Borough Council brought in over £80,000 from parking tickets in just a single year. 

According to a Freedom of Information request made to Test Valley Borough Council by the Advertiser, it earned £81,200 from parking tickets in 2022. 

The money relates to penalty charge notices (PCN) dished out in car parks across the borough. 

In total, 3,059 PCNs were issued by the borough council in 2022. A PCN is a penalty for contravention of parking regulations.

The car park with the highest number of PCNs in Test Valley was Broadwater Road, in Romsey, where 486 were issued. Lortemore Place, in Romsey, was second with 373 PCNs, while Newton Lane, Romsey, had 306.

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Also on the list was George Yard, Andover (244), Crossfield Hall, Romsey (229), Alma Road, Romsey (182), Anton Mill, Andover (145), West Street, Andover (130) Leisure Centre Car Park, Andover (122) and Marlborough Street, Andover (109).

Until April 1 2020, the borough council was also responsible for the enforcement of on-street parking restrictions, on behalf of Hampshire County Council, under an agency agreement.

However, since the beginning of April 2020, the enforcement of on-street parking restrictions reverted back to the county council, with the borough council managing car parks across Test Valley. 

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In February, it was revealed that the county council brought in £378,141 in revenue in the first half of 2022 from penalty charge notices – or £2,101 a day.

This was a rise from £1,572 a day across the whole of 2021.

Nicholas Mantel, head of Churchill Motor Insurance, previously said: “Motorists across Britain are regularly being caught out by increased and sometimes complicated parking restrictions.

“We would encourage drivers to always check parking signs carefully to ensure they avoid any expensive fines.

“If motorists do receive a parking fine, they have 28 days to pay it or appeal to an independent tribunal,” he added.

A spokesperson for Test Valley Borough Council said: “The number of PCNs handed out in 2022 is still way below the levels we saw before the pandemic. Any net total profit Test Valley Borough Council receives through charges and fines goes towards helping fund improvement projects for our car parks.

"Any additional money then helps contribute towards other services that the council provides.”