Parking Services Annual Report 2020-2021
Source: data.gov.uk (2024-02-23)

Bristol City Council Parking Account. A breakdown of income and expenditure on the authority’s parking account. The breakdown of income must include details of revenue collected from on-street parking, off-street parking and Penalty Charge Notices

A breakdown of how the authority has spent a surplus on its parking account.

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Parking Services 
Annual Report 
2020 to 2021 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Contents 
 
Welcome .........................................................................................................................................................3 
The Bristol Transport Strategy ....................................................................................................... 3 
The Joint Local Transport Plan 4 ................................................................................................... 3 
Metrobus ........................................................................................................................................ 4 
Car Parking .....................................................................................................................................................5 
Enforcement....................................................................................................................................................6 
Permit and Concessionary Parking .............................................................................................................8 
2020 to 2021 ...................................................................................................................................................8 
Financial Statements ...................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
Contact information and useful links ........................................................................................................ 12 
Parking Services .......................................................................................................................... 12 
Payment Facilities ........................................................................................................................ 12 
Other useful numbers................................................................................................................... 12 
Other organisations ...................................................................................................................... 13 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Welcome 
 
At Bristol City Council we aim to ensure Bristol remains a great place to live, work, 
study and visit. It’s our duty to manage the road and traffic network through various 
means, such as the provision of on and off-street parking, ensuring primary routes are 
kept free of obstructions through effective enforcement and providing efficient and 
attractive sustainable methods of travel. The following report will demonstrate the role 
that Parking Services plays in meeting these demands. 
 
The Bristol Transport Strategy  
  
Our main focus revolves around working towards the Bristol Transport Strategy, which 
sets out how the Council will:  
• Improve transport to meet increased demand from the growth in housing, jobs 
and regeneration 
• Create an inclusive transport system that provides realistic transport options for 
everyone 
• Create healthy places that promote active transport, improve air quality and 
improve road safety 
• Make better use of our streets to enable more efficient journeys  
• Enable more reliable journeys by minimising the negative impact of congestion 
• Support sustainable growth by enabling efficient movement of people and goods, 
reducing carbon emissions and embracing new technology 
Further information about the Bristol Transport strategy can be found on the Council’s 
website: https://www.bristol.gov.uk/council-and-mayor/policies-plans-and-
strategies/bristol-transport-strategy  
To achieve these goals, we work in conjunction with: 
 
The Joint Local Transport Plan 4  
 
The Joint Local Transport Plan 4 (JLTP4) – led by the West of England Combined Authority, 
working with Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire 
councils – sets out the vision for transport up to 2036. It shows how we will aim to achieve a 
well-connected sustainable transport network that works for residents across the region; a 
network that offers greater, realistic travel choices and makes walking, cycling and public 
transport the natural way to travel.  

4 
 
More information about the JLTP4 can be found on the Council’s website: 
https://www.bristol.gov.uk/residents/streets-travel/transport-plans-and-projects/joint-local-
transport-plan-2020-to-2036  
 
Metrobus  
 
Metrobus is a new, modern public transport service for the greater Bristol area. MetroBus is part 
of the West of England’s plan to: 
Reduce carbon emissions 
Support sustainable economic growth 
Promote accessibility 
Contribute to better safety, security and health 
Improve quality of life and create a healthy natural environment 
Improvements to rail via MetroWest 
More information about Metrobus can be found on the TravelWest website: 
https://travelwest.info/metrobus  
 
 

5 
 
Car Parking 
 
Throughout Bristol we have several open-air car parks, as well as 3 multi-story car 
parks. The multi-story car parks, Trenchard Street, West End and Temple Gate hold 
over 2,000 spaces between them, with a further 1,900 spaces in 37 car parks across 
the city. On top of this, we have 3 park and ride car parks, situated in Brislington, Long 
Ashton and the Portway.  
We offer season tickets at many of our car parks. Specific information for each car park, 
including their tariffs (if applicable) can be found on our website: 
https://www.bristol.gov.uk/residents/parking/where-to-park-in-bristol  
Within a selection of our car parks, we have introduced electric charging points in 
partnership with The Energy Service. Detailed information about the charging points 
available throughout Bristol can be found on our website: 
https://www.bristol.gov.uk/residents/parking/where-to-park-in-bristol/electric-vehicle-
parking  
Throughout 2020-21 we undertook repairs to both Temple Gate and West End multi-
story car parks. Works took a brief pause due to the Covid-19 pandemic, however work 
was able to re-start with some changes to the way our contractors work, such as extra 
provision for welfare to enable social distancing were introduced. These works are due 
to continue throughout 2021-22. 
 
 
 
 

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Enforcement 
 
The main objectives of Parking Services are to keep our roads safe and allow traffic to 
flow freely across the city. This was particularly prevalent during this year, with how we 
approached Enforcement throughout the pandemic. 
As official key workers, our Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs) continued to patrol the 
city, while adapting their processes to ensure compliance with the relevant restrictions 
in place. Some of the changes we made included walking to patrol areas in order to 
limit car sharing and PPE was issued, and the CEOs would spend time, when 
commencing shift, wiping down vehicles prior to taking them out. Extra care had to be 
taken and regular briefings given to the teams as information was disseminated through 
the regular chains of communication.  
On top of this, the main focus of enforcement was predominately focused at the start of 
the pandemic to ensure the free flow of traffic and access, should it be required, for 
emergency services. We also made sure enforcement of RPS areas was reasonable 
and proportionate, taking into consideration the circumstances affecting road users. 
There are times where we need to issue Penalty Charge Notices to vehicles who 
contravene the restrictions in place. When we do, our enforcement is carried out in a 
variety of ways; we have on foot patrols, CCTV enforcement of bus lanes and the use 
of a camera car. The pie chart below shows the most common reasons why PCN are 
issued: 
 
 
Parking PCNs are broken into higher and lower categories, based on the severity of the 
infringement. In 2020 – 21 we issued: 
16,677 
9,793 
18,744 
8,885 
6,606 
80,957 
Contraventions in 2020-21
Yellow Line Contravention
Loading/Unloading Contravention
P&D Contravention
Resident Bays
Other Contraventions
Bus Lane Contravention

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ON STREET PCNS 
OFF STREET PCNS 
HIGHER RATE 
 40,156 
 304  
LOWER RATE 
 19,214  
 1,031  
TOTAL 
 59,370 
 1,335  
 
Once a PCN is issued, and you believe it was incorrectly issued or there is sufficient 
mitigation, there is a statutory appeals procedure in place. Overall, 13,654 (9.6%) of all 
PCNs were cancelled following a challenge/representation being made. More 
information about the appeals procedure can be found on Patrol’s website here: 
https://www.patrol-uk.info/i-have-received-a-pcn/  
 
Overall, 103,572 (73.1%) of all PCNs issued in 2020-21 were paid, of which 85,380 
(82.4%) of these were paid at the discounted rate. That equates to 60.3% of all PCNs 
issued at the discounted rate. 
 
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
Parking
Bus Lane
Overall
4459
2105
6564
5398
xx-xxxx-xxxx
7090
Appeals Outcome in 2020-21
Accepted
Rejected
80%
84%
14%
7%
3%
5%
3%
4%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Parking
Bus Lane
PCN Payments by stage
Discounted rate
Full rate
Charge  Certificate
TEC

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8,069 (5.7% of all PCNs) PCNs were written off. This can be for many reasons, such as 
errors by the Civil Enforcement Officer or the vehicle owner being untraceable. 
The Council doesn’t clamp vehicles, however there are times where vehicle removal is 
required. In 2020-21 we removed 81 vehicles in relation to PCNs. 
 
Permit and Concessionary Parking 
 
Unsurprisingly, considering the legal requirement to work from home where possible, 
we saw an increase in the purchase of Residents Permits in 2020-21. For more specific 
information for each of our RPS areas, please visit www.bristol.gov.uk/rps   
In line with Government guidance, we provided NHS and key health professionals free 
parking permits to assist with attending work. This was primarily focused at Trenchard 
Street MSCP and the area surrounding Bristol Royal Infirmary. Thanks to our Permits 
team and in partnership with the virtual permit service providers we were able to 
provide parking for over 4,000 key workers. 
Permits in our RPS areas aren’t the only type of parking concessions that we offer. We 
have a dedicated Blue Badge department who helped just over 6,000 citizens 
successfully apply for a new badge or renew their existing badge. No team was left 
unaffected by Covid-19, and changes had to be made by the Blue Badge team too. One 
such change was the Independent Medical Assessments, which moved to online 
sessions, away from face-to-face meetings held previously. 
 
2020 to 2021 
 
Work proceeded towards introducing the Clean Air Zone in Bristol. We tendered for 
third party providers to deliver infrastructure, We also gained approval for the outline 
Business Case, which is a key point within the project 
https://www.bristol.gov.uk/residents/streets-travel/bristols-caz  
As part of the Council’s response to Covid, we worked closely with other departments in 
to introduce pavement licenses. This enabled business to put tables and chairs outside 
to assist them in meeting the government’s conditions to re-open. We also gave up pay 
and display to create more space for safe movement of pedestrians/cyclists, specifically 
in and around the Clifton area.  

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We introduced a number of cameras to enforce the bus lanes over Bristol Bridge, with 
the intention to reduce traffic within the city centre. This is part of the Active Travel 
measures undertaken by the city, along with others that can be found on our website at 
https://www.bristol.gov.uk/residents/streets-travel/transport-plans-and-projects. 
Tariff increases across the Central Parking Zone and in the car parks in line with 
inflation were approved for implementation in 21-22. 
 
 
 

10 
 
Financial Statements 
 
Income from Decriminalised Parking Enforcement is known as Section 55 income and, under 
the terms of DPE, must be spent on Transport related activities.  Income from other Parking 
Services’ activities (such as car parking income) is not restricted in this way. 
 
The following table shows the breakdown of Parking Services’ Section 55 income and 
expenditure and also shows how the resulting surplus has been spent. 
 
Parking Enforcement - Section 55 Statement 
2020/21 
Income 
Expenditure 
General Income 
£749,000 
PCN Income 
£1,704,000 
On Street Pay and Display Income 
£2,683,000  
RPS Permits 
£1,676,000 
Total Income 
£6,812,000 
Employees 
 £3,268,000 
Premises Costs 
 £37,000 
Supplies and Services 
  £319,000 
Third Party Payments 
£343,000 
Transport 
£15,000 
Support Services 
£165,000 
Capital Financing Costs 
£0 
Total Expenditure 
£4,147,000  
Operating Surplus 
£2,665,000 
Overhead Allocation 
 £1,208,000 
Net Surplus before transfer to reserves 
£1,456,000 
 
 
 
Transfer to reserves 
£0 
Net Surplus after transfer to reserves 
£1,456,000 
This surplus has contributed to expenditure on the following allowable items: 
Gross Expenditure on Allowable Items 
Provision of Off-Street Parking1 
 
£3,202,000 
Concessionary Fares 
£6,733,000 
Park and Ride Schemes 
£863,000 
Highways and Traffic Signals and Lighting 
 £3,260,000 
Total Allowable Expenditure 
£10,856,000 
Excess of Allowable Expenditure Over Net Surplus 
 £9,399,000 
1 Represents gross off-street expenditure 

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Income from Bus Lane Enforcement under the Transport Act 2000 must also be accounted for 
separately and any surplus income must also be spent on Transport related activities (Statutory 
Instrument 2005 No. 2757, Part 7, Regulation 36).   
 
The following table shows the breakdown of Parking Services’ Bus Lane Enforcement income 
and expenditure and also shows how the resulting surplus has been spent. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bus Lane Enforcement - Regulation 36 Statement   
2020/21 
Income 
Expenditure 
Bus Lane Account (10275) 
Income 
£2,145,000 
Expenditure 
Employees 
 
      £287,000  
Premises 
 
        £16,000  
Transport 
 
         £0 
Supplies and Services 
 
      £245,000 
Third Party Payments 
 
£0  
 
 
£548,000 
 
 
 
Operating Surplus 
£1,597,000 
 
 
 
Overheads (share of parking overheads) 
     £ 57,000 
Net Surplus before transfer to reserves 
£1,540,000 
 
 
 
 
Transfer to Reserves 
 
    £0 
Net Surplus after transfer to reserves 
£1,540,000 
 
This surplus has contributed to expenditure on the following allowable items: 
Passenger Transport - Services 
 
  £359,000 
Concessionary Fares 
 
  £6,733,000 
Total Allowable Expenditure 
£7,092,000  
Excess of Allowable Expenditure over Net Surplus: 
£5,552,000 

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Contact information and useful links 
 
 
Parking Services 
 
Email: xxx@xxx.xx or  
xxx@xxx.xx   
Web: www.bristol.gov.uk/parking  
 
Post:  
Parking Services 
Bristol City Council 
PO Box 3176 
Bristol 
BS3 9FS 
 
General telephone enquiries: xx-xxxx-xxxx 
Fax: xx-xxxx-xxxx 
General telephone enquiries: xx-xxxx-xxxx 
PCN enquiries: xx-xxxx-xxxx 
 
Bay suspensions: xx-xxxx-xxxx 
 
To report an illegally parked vehicle: xx-xxxx-xxxx 
 
 
Payment Facilities 
 
Automated Telephone Payment Line: xx-xxxx-xxxx 
Online Payment facility: www.bristol.gov.uk/pay 
In person at the Citizen Service Point: www.bristol.gov.uk/csp 
 
Other useful numbers 
 
Abandoned vehicles: xx-xxxx-xxxx 
 
Blue Badges, Disabled Bays, Residents’ Parking Permits and Concessionary Travel 
Cards: xx-xxxx-xxxx 
 
Car pound: xx-xxxx-xxxx 

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Park  Ride information: www.travelbristol.org/parkandride  
 
MetroBus: metrobusbristol.co.uk 
 
Residents’ Parking Schemes: www.bristol.gov.uk/rps  
 
 
Other organisations 
 
DVLA: www.dft.gov.uk/dvla 
 
Traffic Penalty Tribunal: www.trafficpenaltytribunal.gov.uk 
 
Patrol (for parking enforcement info): www.patrol-uk.info 
 
British Parking Association: www.britishparking.co.uk 
 
Security Industry Authority: www.the-sia.org.uk 
 
Information on Public Services Source West (electric vehicle charging): 
http://www.sourcewest.info/