Somerset Council's income from parking fines has doubled over five years, according to figures released under the Freedom of Information Act. The council received £1,545,368.30 from penalty charge notices, known as PCNs, in the 2025/26 financial year.

The figure compares with £777,564.43 in 2020/21, when 28,913 PCNs were issued across the Somerset Council area during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. By 2025/26, the number of PCNs had risen to 64,868.

PCNs are issued for parking and traffic contraventions including overstaying in pay and display car parks, failing to display a valid ticket, parking on yellow lines and going through bus gates. In Somerset, penalties are usually £50 for minor contraventions and £70 for more serious cases.

Motorists can have the charge cut by 50 per cent if they pay within 14 days. That reduces the penalties to £25 and £35 respectively.

The number of PCNs rose to 39,268 in 2021/22, generating £982,117.25, before climbing again to 51,236 in 2022/23, when income reached £1,356,069.57. The total dipped in 2023/24, with 47,081 PCNs bringing in £1,242,826.48.

The sharpest annual increase came in 2024/25, when 65,487 PCNs generated £1,654,562.38. The following year saw a slight fall in the number of fines, but income remained above £1.5m.

In 2025/26, the most common location for fines was The Crescent car park in Taunton town centre, opposite Somerset Council's headquarters. The car park recorded 1,368 offences, with a further 214 linked to on-street parking on The Crescent itself.

Most penalties at The Crescent car park were issued for parking without clear display or staying after paid-for time had expired. The figures also show 100 tickets were issued for petrol or diesel vehicles parked in electric vehicle charging spaces, which were installed in early 2023 as part of a £1m revamp of the car park.

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Somerset Council said income from parking penalties and parking charges is ringfenced for parking and transport-related purposes. It cannot be used to fund adult social care, children's social care or other unrelated council services.

A council spokesperson said: "Any surplus from parking penalties and parking charges is used to cover the costs of running parking services and meeting parking-related obligations.

"Once these costs are met, any remaining surplus is generally restricted to purposes such as public transport, road and highway improvements, parking provision, and local environmental improvements, in line with the statutory framework in England.

"This is set out in the Traffic Management Act 2004, which refers to the underlying spending rules in Section 55 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984."

The council was unable to confirm whether it is spending more on enforcement than in 2021 after inflation is taken into account. However, it said no increase in PCN volumes has been built into its financial planning.

The spokesperson added: "We are not expecting penalty charge notice volumes to increase, and no increase has been built into the medium term financial plan."

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