Cllr Paul Elgood

Calls for the council to bring the on street parking contract back in-house are likely to grow following the disclosure that the surplus generated by the scheme increased by a massive £1.2 million last year. The council's newly published statement of accounts for 2009/9 shows that the surplus generated rose from £6.2 million in 2007/08 to £7.4 million - a massive 16 per cent rise in just a year.

Last night at the council's Overview and Scrutiny Commission, Lib Dem Councillor Paul Elgood asked for the current figure (which would have been at September), and was told that the income from on street parking was already £100,000 in excess of this year's target, with the off street parking income £50,000 ahead of predictions.

Paul said:
'This contract is literally a license to print money. The huge increase in income comes at a heavy price to those paying the fees, fines and permits in the city. The backdrop to this is a recession where local businesses who rely on easy and cheap parking for their customers.  The only way to return openness and transparency to this scheme is to bring it back in-house at the next opportunity.'