The income councils raked in from parking surged to almost £1bn in the last financial year.

Local authorities in England generated £962.3m from parking charges in 2022-23, AA analysis of new Government figures has revealed, up from £317.6m the previous year.

Last year’s total income, from both on-street and car park charges, surpasses the £936.1m brought in before the coronavirus pandemic in 2018-19.

However, income from car parks dropped from £363.6m to £289.2m in this period.

Last year, London councils alone generated £551.3m in profits from street parking, according to the statistics from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

The figures show that councils have turned parking ‘into a huge cash cow’, according to AA head of roads policy Jack Cousens.

Mr Cousens added: ‘However, the nearly £75m or 20% crash in the surplus from car parks must be particularly worrying for cash-strapped councils.’

‘While the covid fallout, such as people working from home, and the economic downturn are factors in the decline, hikes in parking charges by councils have contributed and helped to drive more shoppers online.

‘In effect, many local authorities are killing the goose that lays the golden egg.’

A Local Government Association spokesperson said: ‘Income raised through parking charges is spent on running parking services.

‘Any surplus is spent on essential transport projects, including fixing the £14bn road repairs backlog, reducing congestion, tackling poor air quality and supporting local bus services.’