MONMOUTHSHIRE County council plans to take over on-street parking enforcement could need to see at least 15 drivers fined each day to break even, it has been revealed.

The move would mean beefing up the parking enforcement division by two extra officers and admin staff, costing at least £150,000 per year, meaning a minimum £412 in fines per day would be needed to just to cover running costs.

A document report due to be presented to councillors revealed that MCC officers planned to finalise its application to Welsh Government by the end of November this year.

The paper states that the employment of two extra enforcement officers, plus support staff, and the provision of equipment, software and hardware would cost £150,000 each year, a figure the document suggested would be covered by income.

Figures suggest that enforcement officers would need to bring in almost £3,000 per week just to break even, meaning 50 drivers per week being fined at the standard £60 per offence.

The document also states that an additional £240,000 would be needed to meet upfront costs, including the refurbishment of existing signage.

Parking enforcement has traditionally been the remit of Gwent Police, but, the document reveals that the police have already given notice to ‘cease enforcement’ by December 31 this year, in line with ‘all other Welsh police authorities’.

MCC officers are now tasked with spending £90,000 on streamlining the current Traffic Regulation Order to fit the new system.

Last year, it was revealed that Monmouthshire’s car parks earned almost £1 million a year for the local authority.

Figures released back in November 2017 showed the county sitting sixth in a league table of Welsh council parking incomes.

For the financial year 2016-17, Monmouthshire made a surplus of £929,000 from parking—a stark contrast to neighbouring Blaenau Gwent, where the local authority lost £836,000 in the same period, and Torfaen which lost £72,000.

The RAC Foundation numbers showed Monmouthshire’s income from parking remained static for two years but is more than double what it was five years ago.

It was also revealed that above-inflation increases in both council-parking income and expenditure across Wales had led to a relatively small rise in overall profits.

Sitting just below Monmouthshire in seventh place, Powys made £895,000 from parking according to the new figures.

Between them, the 22 councils in Wales had parking income of £37.4 million in 2016-17, 4.5 per cent higher than the previous financial year. Total expenditure on running parking activities was £23.4 million, a 6.4 per cent increase on the previous financial year.

A council spokesman said, “Members will make a decision after Monmouthshire’s strong communities select committee and the cabinet consider the council taking on the duty of civil parking enforcement (CPE) which involves dealing with offences such as parking on double yellow lines etc. The council will assume responsibility across Monmouthshire, but mainly within the towns of Abergavenny, Chepstow and Monmouth.  The council currently deals with off-street parking. 

“The council will apply to the Welsh Government to take on these additional powers and will need to support its submission with a business case to demonstrate the viability and sustainability of its proposals. 

“Due to the nature and amount of work required for preparation and the time it takes for the formal application to be considered by Welsh Government the council is unlikely to assume responsibility for on-street parking until spring or summer 2019. 

“Gwent Police are likely to continue to assist and cover this period but on an ad-hoc and as required basis.”

 The measure could also allow the council to tackle wider issues such as traffic congestion, road safety and to safeguard the interests of residents, blue badge holders, transport operators and local businesses, said the spokesman, before warning that failure to gain the powers would have a ‘detrimental impact’ on the ‘efficiency and safety of the highway network’. ?

The council is also looking to work with neighbouring Gwent authorities to ‘collaborate where possible’.

Chief Inspector Richie Blakemore, of Gwent Police, said, “Throughout the rest of Wales, local authorities are the lead agency for parking enforcement, rather than the police. To ensure there is a consistent approach across the country it is our intention to transfer the enforcement of parking in Monmouthshire County Borough to the local authority.

“As you would expect, we will work closely with our local authority partners on this matter to ensure the public receive an effective service”.