South London council is owed £1.1 million in unpaid parking fines

Croydon Council is owed more than £1.13 million in unpaid parking fines, with some drivers racking up hundreds of penalty charge notices (PCNs) without paying a penny.

According to figures seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), there are 6,701 outstanding PCNs across the borough, totalling £1,134,197 in unpaid fines. The list of the top 50 worst offenders shows that several vehicles have each been issued more than 300 PCNs, with individual debts running into tens of thousands of pounds.

The single biggest offender owes £68,255 after receiving 343 fines, while another driver owes £60,647 for 350 unpaid PCNs. Others on the list have accumulated between 100 and 350 tickets, with the 50th offender still owing more than £13,000.

The figures suggest a small number of persistent offenders account for a significant proportion of unpaid fines, with the top ten vehicles alone owing more than £380,000 between them. Parking fines are an important source of income for local authorities, intended not only to enforce parking regulations but also to fund road safety and transport improvements.

Some of these debts are believed to date back several years, raising questions about how effectively the council is pursuing those who repeatedly flout parking rules. Labour opposition leader Councillor Stuart King criticised Mayor Jason Perry’s Conservative administration for failing to act swiftly enough.

He told the LDRS: “It is staggering that Mayor Perry has allowed over £1m in fines to go unpaid. In many of these cases, literally hundreds of fines are being issued with no follow-up.

“Meanwhile, hardworking council taxpayers can’t park near their homes because the Mayor isn’t cracking down on this sort of behaviour. Once again, Mayor Perry is failing on the basics.”

Residents have long complained about drivers parking illegally or abandoning vehicles without consequence, particularly in busy parts of central Croydon and around transport hubs.

In response, Executive Mayor Jason Perry defended his administration’s record, and instead blamed the previous Labour leadership for years of inaction. He told the LDRS: “Under Labour, parking enforcement in Croydon was a shambles, years of neglect allowed thousands of fines to go unpaid and problem vehicles to clog up our streets. I’m fixing that.

Perry praised his administration’s “zero-tolerance approach” to illegal parking and antisocial behaviour. He pointed to a recent example in which the council removed a vehicle with more than 60 outstanding PCNs, worth over £11,000, and is now taking the case to prosecution.

He went on to say: “Most residents play by the rules, and it’s not fair on them when others think they’re above the law. That’s why I’m determined to track down those who refuse to pay, working with the DVLA and enforcement partners to seize unregistered vehicles and keep our streets clear.”

In one final jab at the party he will be facing off against in May’s local and mayoral elections, he said: “Labour created this problem through years of mismanagement, we’re the ones sorting it out.

“I won’t take lessons from the people who left Croydon in chaos. We’re restoring pride in our borough and standing up for those who do the right thing.”