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More than 386,000 parking fines issued over last three Christmas periods – Marshall Motor Group

Parking fines issued during December have risen year on year, reflecting increased pressure on town centres, high streets and car parks during the festive period.

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More than 386,000 parking fines were issued during December across the three years from 2022 to 2024, according to research from Marshall Motor Group.

Analysis of Freedom of Information responses from 22 of the UK’s largest local authorities shows that December parking enforcement generated more than £14m in revenue for councils over the three-year period, equivalent to around £154,000 per day.

The data indicated that parking fines issued during December have risen year on year, reflecting increased pressure on town centres, high streets and car parks during the festive period.

Councils issued 86,888 penalty charge notices in December 2022, rising to 114,098 in 2023, before increasing again to 131,100 in December 2024.

A similar pattern is evident in revenue figures. Councils reported more than £3.8m from December parking fines in 2022, increasing to £5.0m in 2023 and £5.4m in 2024, underlining the growing cost of parking enforcement for drivers during the Christmas period.

Manchester City Council recorded the highest number of December parking fines across the three years combined, issuing more than 109,000 penalty charge notices.

This was almost three times the number issued by Lambeth Borough Council, which ranked second. Other councils with high volumes included Leicester City Council, Liverpool City Council, Ealing Borough Council, Bristol City Council, Barnet Council, Bradford Council, Newcastle upon Tyne City Council and Enfield Council, highlighting that the issue is not confined to London.

Where councils provided location-level data, fines were heavily concentrated in busy shopping areas and central car parks.

In Manchester, Arndale Car Park recorded more than 2,300 penalty charge notices in December 2024 alone, with similar volumes in the previous two years.

Other hotspots included The Broadway in Ealing, London Road in Leicester, Green Lanes in Enfield, Neville Street in Newcastle upon Tyne, Belvedere Road in Lambeth and Duke Street in Liverpool.

Many of these locations already attract high parking charges, with parking at Manchester’s Arndale Car Park costing £3.80 per hour.

Ben Welham, motoring expert at Marshall Motor Group, said: “December is one of the busiest months on the roads and in town centres, and these figures show just how quickly small parking mistakes can become costly.

“Drivers should take extra care to check signage, restrictions and payment rules, particularly in high-footfall areas like shopping streets and major car parks.”

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