Parking fines in Elgin car parks have soared by 37% and banked more than £20,000 extra cash than the previous year, the Press and Journal can reveal.
Through the whole of 2024 Moray Council officials slapped 1,787 tickets on windscreens across the town.
The staggering rise of 483 additional fines compared to 2023 comes despite usage of Elgin car parks dropping after increased charges were introduced.
Figures published by the Press and Journal showed the number of drivers using the pay and display sites dropped by 20% in the first nine months of 2024.
The Batchen Lane multi-storey has had the biggest rise in fines issued this year with the most recent total more than five times the number previously.
Moray Council says it is at a loss to explain the significant increase in car park fines issued across Elgin – but has reminded motorists of the need to park “courteously”.
Staff car park fines increase further
Last year the Press and Journal revealed the scale of car park fines issued in Moray Council’s staff car parks in Elgin.
The HQ Annexe and Greyfriars Street car parks are reserved solely for local authority employees Monday to Friday, but are open to the general public on Saturdays.
Throughout 2023 car park attendants issued a combined 272 fines across the two sites, which increased to 308 in 2024.
Moray Council has stressed that staff are made aware of the pay and display charges in the car parks.
The local authority has also explained the totals are proportionate to the income generated from them and they are open to all motorists at weekends.
Elgin car park fines: Fast facts
- Moray Council issued 1,787 fines in Elgin car parks in 2024.
- The total is a 37% increase from the 1,304 issued in 2024, but just 14% higher than the 1,572 issued in 2023.
- Income from the fines in 2024 was £97,793, compared to £76,444 in 2023 and £90,375 in 2022.
- Fines in the Batchen Lane multi-storey soared from just 21 in 2023 to 136 in 2024.
- Moray Street has had the most fines issued for each of the last three years.
- Fines at Lossie Green nearly doubled from 100 in 2023 to 196 in 2024.
- Greyfriars Street, which is reserved for Moray Council staff Monday to Friday, was the only car park to record a drop in fines in 2024 compared to 2023 with the total falling from 136 to 125.
‘Consistent complaints about Elgin parking’
Moray Council is currently planning a shake-up of on-street parking in Elgin due to worries about vehicles stopping on High Street pavements.
Sections of the footpath near Poundland are due to be removed next year to create more spaces for disabled motorists.
The new bays are to replace those due to be lost on Commerce Street from the formation of a new cyclepath.
Meanwhile, rising and falling bollards will also be installed on Thunderton Place to enforce existing access restrictions on the street.
Parking complaints have been one of the most regular worries received by Elgin Community Council in recent years.
Chairman Alastair Kennedy said: “We get consistent complaints that Elgin is the only place in Moray where you have to pay for parking.
“If you don’t follow the rules and you get fined, then I suppose you have to accept that.
“I can understand why people feel a bit aggrieved about having to pay to park in Elgin in the first place though.”
Moray Council has told the Press and Journal its level of enforcement in Elgin car parks has not changed from last year.
A spokeswoman said: “There’s no discernible relationship between the number of ECNs (excess charge notices) issued and other factors.
“Neither the approach to enforcement or overall level of resource has changed.
“We would remind drivers of the different options for paying to park, including by phone, and of the need to park courteously within marked bays.”
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