Parking fine figures revealed

Rochdale Borough Council made £46,000 less in 2008 than in 2006

Rochdale Borough Council has released figures on parking fines in light of a recent drop in town centre traffic.

As previously reported, a decrease in the volume of shoppers has lead to parking attendant's working hours being cut, as a result of a drop in revenue.

Figures obtained by Rochdale Online News today (Tuesday 12 May) show that the council made £46,000 less in 2008 than they did in 2006.

In 2006, £643,000 was made in parking fines alone, followed by £696,000 in 2007, and then £597,000 in 2008.

A Rochdale Borough Council spokesman said: "A review has shown that a reduced level of service is needed from Parking Attendants before 9am and after 5pm, there will still be attendants operating outside these core hours but not as many as before."

"The likely reasons for this (the drop) include the effective targeting of the main locations of non-compliance, the resultant decrease in the number of people parking illegally and a general reduction in traffic numbers".