ST HELENS Council’s profits from its from car parking continue to tumble and are among the lowest in the country when compared with other local authorities, a reports shows.

A survey by the RAC Foundation shows many local authorities across England are coining it in from parking charges – making hundreds of thousands or even millions in “profit” each year.

The surplus made by St Helens Council for on-and off-street parking fees has been falling steadily year-on-year since 2010, when the authority made a profit of £644,000. In the year 2013-14 the council’s parking profits had dropped by 96 per cent to just £24,000.

Of England’s 353 councils, St Helens ranks in 290th place, below Wigan, which made £1,078,000 in 2013-14 on parking and Knowsley, which made £230,000 in the same year.

With a shortfall of £76,000, Warrington Council lost money on parking. 

A spokesman for St Helens Council said: “St Helens remains one of the cheapest towns in the North West in which to park.

“The council has deliberately kept prices down as part of our campaign to attract more shoppers into the town centre and support the local economy.

“As well as free parking on Saturdays we also operate a ‘free after 3pm’ scheme during the week.

 “As a result we’ve seen increased footfall among retailers and at local visitor attractions.”

In 2013-14, councils in England made a combined “profit” of £667 million from their on- and off-street parking operations, the RAC Foundation report said.

This was a 12 per cent rise on the 2012-13 figure, with 44 per cent of the 2013-14 total being generated by councils in London, the survey said.

The figures were calculated by adding up income from parking charges and penalty notices, then deducting running costs.

 The data, analysed for the RAC Foundation by transport consultant David Leibling, came from the statutory annual returns that councils made to the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Local Government Association transport spokesman Peter Box said: “This misleading RAC Foundation report is yet again based on the deep-rooted misconception that councils make a profit from parking.

"On-street parking revenue is spent on paying for parking services and any surplus is spent on essential transport projects.”