Council bosses have refuted figures claiming Lancashire motorists have shelled out nearly £7million in parking fines in the last two years.
In the past year, most Lancashire authorities have recorded a drop in penalties, which the Taxpayers' Alliance (TPA) says could be due to recession-hit motorists being more cautious about incurring charges.
According to TPA figures, Lancashire Cou
nty Council – which enforces on-street penalties in areas including West Lancashire, Chorley, South Ribble, Fylde, Preston, Wyre, Lancaster and Ribble Valley – saw a drop in revenue from parking tickets from £3,234,523 in 2007/08 to £2,729,084 during 2008/09.
But the county council said the TPA had got their figures – taken from a Freedom of Information request – muddled.
Coun Keith Young, cabinet member for Highways and Transport, said: "The report is misleading as it 'double counts' figures provided by the county and district councils which vastly over-inflates them."
For off-street parking, all local authorities which carry out their own enforcements saw a drop in money raised through penalties – except for South Ribble. For 07/08, South Ribble's penalties totalled £29,080. This rose to £31,368 during 08/09.
Coun Don Parkinson, Mayor of South Ribble, said: "The only reason I can think of is people flaunting the rules. They need to be more responsible."
In Preston, £85,107 was raised in 07/08, which dropped to £70,131 in 08/09.
Ken Hudson, leader of Preston Council, said: "Our parking people are much more human. Preston insisted on that. I am very pleased that they (penalties) have gone down and I hope that they go down even further, even though it might mean job losses for the wardens.
Fylde, Ribble Valley and Wyre are all included in LCC's responsibilities for off street parking.
In Chorley, the figures fell from £131,940 to £124,536.
Coun Eric Bell, Chorley Council's executive member (neighbourhoods), said: "Most people are getting the message that we are not out there to catch people out, we are just trying to be responsible."
In Lancaster, £175,650 decreased to £144,600 and, in West Lancashire, the figure plummeted from £122,328 to £78,282.
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