MOTORISTS appealed against nearly a quarter of the 49,661 fines issued to vehicles parked on streets in North Yorkshire last year, a report has revealed.

The fines and charges to park on streets brought in about £3m in income to North Yorkshire County Council, which is responsible for on-street enforcement, so the figures do not include car parks.

Of the £4.9m total generated from parking enforcement, £2.9m was from charges, £1.4m from fines and £500,000 from permits. The council incurred costs of £1.9m.

Officers revealed about 23 per cent of drivers appealed against the fines with 15 per cent, or 7,600, either written off or cancelled.

Concerns remain over the number of fines being issued per visit by traffic officers being much higher in some towns than others.

Wardens issued with 1.18 tickets per visit to Bedale and 0.47 in Northallerton compared with 0.14 in Harrogate. Officers said the council was looking at improving signs for drivers.

Increased charges are being recommended for Harrogate as well as bringing in charges in the town on Sundays from November, which will mean a 10p increase per 20 minutes for short stay.

The report will be considered by the executive business and environmental services committee on Friday.

The authority’s highways director Barrie Mason said breaking parking rules affected road safety, traffic flow, short stay parking turnover and the ability of residents to find spaces and on blue badge holders getting vacant disabled bays.

Councillor Don Mackenzie, transport executive member, said: “There is no evidence to show that reasonable parking charges have a negative impact on town centre economies. Indeed, our prime purpose is to reduce congestion and make town centres even more attractive.”