Wrexham Council Unaware How Much Raised By No Change Parking Machines

Wrexham Council has admitted it doesn’t know how much money it makes from motorists who don’t have the correct change for parking.

In a Wrexham.com FOI request we challenged the authority to disclose the surplus amount generated by its pay and display parking machines by not giving change.

However, they said that they do not record such information.

Wrexham Council provides in excess of 1300 pay and display parking spaces including eight pay and display town centre car parks, none of which offer change.

In a statement from the council’s environment department they told us: “Due to the mechanism of the pay and display machine and the way in which the monies are counted and banked, the council is unable to determine if, or how much may have been overpaid by a car park user.

“The fact that the pay and display machines used by the council in the town centre do not offer change to users paying to park is clearly stated on the machine before a member of the public uses it.

“You will also find that nationally most pay and display machines used by car park operators do not provide change to the user.”

According to their last annual parking report posted online (a little outdated from 2009/10) Wrexham Council raked in £756,692 in income from its pay and display car parks.

Of this amount the quantity generated by not giving change is unknown.

Off street parking pay and display revenue is non ring fenced meaning that the council can spend the money on what it wishes.

Elmbridge Borough Council, which represents a similar population to Wrexham county borough, made more than £8,500 in one year from surplus change.

According to a report in the Telegraph from 2011 motorists lose out on over £1m to local authorities every year due to such parking machines.

It is likely Wrexham Council has surplus cash generated by such overpayments, however without the figures recorded we cannot confirm nor give a sum. It does raise the question of how such unrecorded money is accounted for, and spent, as it does not officially exist!