MORE than £180,000 in unpaid parking fines is still being chased by the council.
A Freedom of Information request, seen by the Chronicle, shows the number of unpaid parking fines both on-street and off-street in the town between 2019 and 2023.
There are currently just three unpaid parking fines - between them worth £138 - from 2019; in 2020, there is still £479 outstanding for 11 fines.
Then there was a drastic surge to 729 unpaid fines in 2021 - at a cost of £79,926.
A total of 439 fines are still unpaid from 2022 - with a total value of £46,612.
While there’s still 845 unpaid fines costing £85,969 from last year.
It means the council is currently chasing 2,027 fines worth £186,124.
Coun James Higginbottom, cabinet spokesperson for environment and highways, told the Chronicle: “If a parking penalty charge notice (PCN) is unpaid after 28 days, a court order is issued.
“If the PCN remains unpaid, the case goes to enforcement officers who collect the amount on our behalf.
“Over 98 per cent of unpaid fines are escalated to enforcement officers, and we monitor progress quarterly.
“In 2023, only 11 per cent of tickets issued remained unpaid.”
