Parking permits generate hundreds of thousands of pounds for city council

Ted Peskett, local democracy reporter

The money made by Cardiff Council through parking permits has gone up by hundreds of thousands of pounds in the last few years.

Data from a freedom of information request made by car service cinch found that the local authority has made £1,654,098.52 from residential parking permits since 2020.

As part of its plans to save millions of pounds this year, Cardiff Council voted through a budget that will see the cost of residential car parking permits in the city go up again.

Budget consultation

The local authority said the revenue from parking permits will support its strategy of making it easier for residents to park closer to their homes, which is something that came up in the council’s budget consultation process.

However, cinch motoring editor, Sam Sheehan, said the company is seeing parking permits become increasingly expensive across the country and that it is putting households under pressure.

He said: “Parking permits can be great for making sure residents have somewhere to park near their homes, but there should be a balance between affordability and accessibility.

“Our research shows that parking permits are getting more expensive across the UK, putting extra financial strain on residents already dealing with rising living costs.

“Multi-car households are often the most affected. Second and third permits come at a premium and can be as much as four times more expensive than a first permit in some areas.”

At the moment, the cost of a first residential car parking permit in Cardiff is £30 for 12 months and a second permit is £80 for 12 months.

As part of its 2025/26 budget, Cardiff Council proposed to increase this to £35 for the first permit and £120 for the second permit.

From April 2011 to April 2024, the cost of a first parking permit was £7.50 and a second permit was £30.

Freedom of information request

Data from the freedom of information request made by cinch to Cardiff Council shows that 24,200 residential parking permits were issued in the city from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 and that the revenue received that year was £198,985.58.

It also showed that there were 19,880 parking permits issued in Cardiff from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024 and that the revenue received for that year was £625,174.

The data shows that the biggest increase in revenue over that four year period happened from 2023 to 2024, when it went up by about 60% from £389,744.88.

Here is the full breakdown of the revenue made by the Cardiff Council from residential parking permits in those years:

2020: £198,985
2021: 228,029.66
2022: 212,164.40
2023: 389,744.88
2024: 625,174.00
A Cardiff Council spokesperson said: “Feedback received from public consultations has clearly shown that residents want to park as close to their homes as possible.

“In response, the council is actively designing a residential parking scheme to free up more space for resident parking while reducing commuter parking in residential areas.

“The council has also expanded the number of residential parking bays.

“The increase in permits issued has boosted revenue, supporting our strategy to make it easier for residents to park near their homes.

“Any surplus income from parking charges is transferred to a parking reserve account, which is used to support public transport services, off-street parking, and highway improvements in accordance with section 55 of the Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984.

“The parking reserve account has funded several improvements, including the installation of disabled bays, keep-clear zones by schools, safe access to school schemes, highway improvements, bus lanes, cycling partnerships, operations to remove off-road bikes from public land, upgrades to car parks including pay and display facilities, and ongoing maintenance of the moving traffic offences scheme.”