Parking annual report 2020/21 – keeping the city moving

More than £12million has again been invested in supporting elderly, disabled and vulnerable people in Brighton & Hove to travel around the city.

Figures from the latest Parking Annual Report show that surplus generated from parking charges has been spent on concessionary bus fares for elderly and disabled people and on supporting a number of bus routes.

This is despite the surplus reducing in 2020/21, largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Members of the Environment, Transport and Sustainability committee will be asked to approve the Annual Parking Report when it meets on Tuesday 18 January.

By law, any surplus generated by parking fees and charges must be spent on provision of public transport services or to road, air quality or environmental improvements.

What’s in the Parking Annual Report?

The annual parking report offers an overview of parking in Brighton & Hove, including income from council run car parks, parking permits, on-street parking charges and Penalty Charge Notices.

Among other highlights, the report for 2020/21 shows that:

• Surplus fell from £16,500,790 in 2019/20 to £15,154,019 in 2020/21
• £10,535,684 of this surplus was spent on concessionary bus passes for eligible elderly and disabled residents 
• £1,499,372 was invested into supporting bus routes that would otherwise have lost money but provide key services in parts of the city and help prevent isolation.
• We issued 4022 Blue Badges for disabled people and issued more than 650 taxi vouchers for disabled people unable to use a bus pass
• The number of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) issued fell by 23,004

You can read more information by downloading the full report when it becomes available on our webpage where you can also read previous reports and watch a video which explains where parking surplus is spent.

Supporting the city during Covid

It was an extremely busy time for teams working to support the city through the Covid-19 pandemic. Examples of this include:

• Concessionary bus passes for elderly residents were temporarily extended to 24 hours to allow those residents to shop during quieter periods and to support them to get their/a Covid-19 vaccination
• The council provided free car parking to all NHS workers, social care staff and NHS volunteer responders
• Parking contractor NSL assisted us in helping to deliver around 250 meals a day to people living in emergency accommodation
• Staff were also used to help maintain social distancing at our household recycling centres, steward access to Madeira Drive and to clean touch points on the city’s Pay & Display machines.

A busy and challenging year

2020/21 was another busy year for our parking teams working in our offices, remotely, in our car parks and on the city streets.

The Blue Badge and Concessionary Travel Team have ensured that Mobility Assessments return to face-to-face meetings.

They are also working on Operation Blue Bird – a joint operation between the police and the council’s Blue Badge investigators to tackle Blue Badge fraud.

Working hard to keep Brighton & Hove moving

Steve Davis, Co-Chair of the Environment, Transport and Sustainability committee said: “It’s been another busy year for the teams keeping our city moving and I’d like to thank them for their hard work under such challenging circumstances and would like to congratulate them on their efforts.

“Income generated from parking and charges is vital to support  elderly, disabled and vulnerable residents to travel around Brighton & Hove. Without it, many would be left in isolation. 

“By investing in public transport and things like electric vehicle infrastructure, we continue to move towards carbon neutrality. We know that we must provide people with sustainable travel options if we’re to cut carbon emissions in the city.”