Newham’s notorious traffic enforcement regime raked in a record £21.5million from parking fines between 2023 and 2024, latest figures show.
The borough generated £37.5 million from its traffic policing from 2023 to 2024 with more than £21.5million coming solely from penalty charge notices (PCNs), as outlined in Newham’s annual parking report.
Newham issued more than 430,000 PCNs and more than eight thousand vehicles were taken to pound from 2023 to 2024, according to data from London Councils.
The council was dubbed the nation’s parking fine capital in 2021 for issuing £10.6million worth of PCNs yet four years on, its figures have nearly doubled and it remains the harshest traffic authority in London.
Out of the total 439,000 PCNs distributed by Newham, nearly two-thirds were for parking offences.
‘The more broken the system is, the more money they make’
Great Yarmouth Conservative councillor and long-time car enthusiast Ivan Murray-Smith has supported hundreds of motorists in the London Tribunals, where appeals against PCNs issued by local authorities are considered.
Murray-Smith blames structural faults and poor staff training for Newham’s striking numbers of PCNs, as his findings exclusively identified at least 800 wrongly issued PCNs.
Between 2014 and 2024, more than 500 PCNs were issued after a sign was unlawfully installed stating “disabled permit holders” in a bay legally designated for any Blue Badge holder, Murray-Smith’s Freedom of Information request revealed.
In a case which gained national media coverage, Murray-Smith supported Newham’s Ricardo Bowen after he was wrongly fined for a yellow box junction offence, resulting in the cancellation of 370 other PCNs.
He said: “I’m only one person. It begs the question, if you did a comprehensive audit, how many more of these PCNs are wrongly issued?”
Murray-Smith believes there is a lack of incentive for Newham to redress their enforcement system as its current flaws are financially advantageous for the council.
He said: “The more broken the system is, the more money they make. Newham gets showered with money.”
Since 2018, Newham’s parking fine revenue has increased by a whopping 81% – £11.9million to £21.5million – making 2023/24 its highest-earning year on record.
Less than 0.6% of Newham’s 430,000 PCNs were appealed last year which Murray-Smith indicates is because ordinary Londoners often lack the knowledge to challenge fines.
Even when appellants do successfully challenge their PCNs at tribunal, they rarely recover legal costs from the council which further minimises any risk for Newham’s mishandlings, the justice campaigner explained.
He said: “The only consequence of a council doing things wrong is that 99% of people will pay them more money than they should.”
Increasing demand for parking alongside and limited access to off-road parking likely attribute to Newham’s high number of PCN charges each year, Compare the Market car insurance expert Julie Daniels suggested.
East Ham resident Sabiha Khankara, 40, expressed her frustration at the unforgiving speed at which PCNs are delivered, recalling an episode whereby a relative’s car was fined and towed within an hour.
Khankara branded the borough’s workforce as sly and lacking empathy for ‘grey area’ fines.
She said: “It stops people from going places and doing stuff for the community.”
Murray-Smith points drivers to seek independent guidance and consult the Free Traffic Legal Advice website if they believe they are victim of a wrongly issued PCN.
He added: “Do not trust anything the council tells you.”
Newham Council did not respond to a request for comment.
How do other London boroughs compare?
The total number of PCNs distributed and vehicles taken to pound across the capital from 2023 to 2024 stands at 7.4million.
Since 2018, the number of PCNs issued by London boroughs has risen by 33.4% with the most dramatic surge in 2021 as enforcement jumped by 40% following the pandemic.
Sutton recorded the lowest level of parking enforcement last year with just over 57,000 combined PCNs and vehicle removals, 87% fewer than Newham.
Other low-ranking boroughs include Bexley, Hillingdon, Bromley and Greenwich.
Parking penalty charges were raised across the city for the first time since 2011, aligning with Transport for London’s 2022 increase, under a mandate from London Councils’ Transport and Environment Committee.
London Councils’ Chief Operating Officer Stephen Boon said: “Any net revenue raised from PCNs is reinvested in transport schemes.
“Including paying for the Freedom Pass providing free public transport for older and disabled Londoners.”
Featured image credit: Caspar Rae I Unsplash
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