COLCHESTER Council bosses have challenged figures published by a charity which appear to show the authority raked in £10.5 million in parking charges, fines and permit costs in just 12 months.

The figures have been published by motoring charity the RAC Foundation and show the authority is the 11th top ‘earner’ in the country outside of London.

But council bosses say the charity’s figures are incorrect and instead relate to the whole of the North Essex Parking Partnership, which the authority leads.

It includes Tendring, Braintree, Uttlesford, Epping Forest and Harlow.

According to the figures, Colchester ‘earned’ more in 2015/16 than Liverpool, Southampton and Bournemouth and just less than Leeds.

The £10.5 million figure includes £1.8 million from on-street parking fines - a figure which appears to leave Colchester Council as the 14th highest-earning authority outside of London for penalty notices.

According to the foundation, Colchester is also the fourth highest-spender in the country outside of London, with £8 million being ploughed into maintenance, improvements and staff costs.

Overall, the figures state the council made a £2.5 million profit.

But a Colchester Council spokesman said: “We are somewhat disconcerted to see the figures presented in the report in such a way as to give the impression that they relate to on and off-road parking charges collected in the Colchester borough – when, in fact, they also include the on-street income from other councils in the North Essex Parking Partnership.

“In addition, the data in this report includes various accounting adjustments which can give a misleading view of income and expenditure when looked at separately.

“When looked at in net terms (income minus expenditure), Colchester is 78th out of 353 councils.”

He added: “The most recent 2017/18 budget figures show an income of £3.8 million from off-street parking within the borough, which together with the NEPP’s on-street income of £2.5 million is significantly lower than the £10.5 millon figure for 2015/16 quoted in the RAC report.”

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said the figures “reflect the growing competition for space in many of our towns and cities”.

He also cited a huge increase in the number of cars on Britain’s roads from 21.4 million in 1995 to 30.7 million last year.

He added: “Parking charges are one of the tools councils use to keep traffic moving whilst also allowing people reasonable and affordable access to high street shops and other facilities.

“The good news is that any profit generated by councils from on-street parking must by law be spent on transport-related activities, and as every motorist knows there’s no shortage of work that needs doing.”

Elie Fakhoury, managing director at motoring firm Click4reg, weighed in on the debate, calling parking charges “necessary”.

He added: “Motorists need structure, rules – but it’s about being smart.

“Weigh up the options available to you, locally or further afield.

“Don’t just settle for the most convenient, or popular parking as rates are often far higher.”