Business leaders called for a “balance” to be struck on parking charges after figures revealed Birmingham City Council turned a £16 million “profit” in just three years.
Statistics from the RAC Foundation showed the authority recorded a surplus of more than £5 million from its on and off-street parking operations in each of the financial years from 2009/10 to 2011/12.
The sum in 2011/12 was £5.5 million – one of the highest levels in England.
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The council, which now charges up to £3 for previously-free evening parking at city centre meters, said all the money generated was ploughed back into improving facilities.
But the levels of surplus generated by the authority are likely to spark fresh debate about the parking charges imposed by the organisation, which is midway through a huge cuts agenda.
Katie Teasdale, director of policy at Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Group, said the council had to be wary of harming trade by driving shoppers into the arms of out-of-town malls offering free parking.
“We understand there are huge pressures on council budgets and that they are looking at making money where they can,” she said.
“Equally, higher car parking costs discourage people from coming in to the city.
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“We need to strike the right balance, particularly in the city centre where we should be supporting our retail and leisure industries, which Birmingham is promoting internationally.”
The RAC Foundation data revealed English councils made a combined £565 billion surplus from parking in 2011/12, the most recent year for which figures were available.
That figure was up by £54 million on the £511 million surplus seen in 2010/11.
Birmingham recorded a surplus of £5.5 million in 20011/12, £5.1 milion in 2010/11 and £5.8 million in 2009/10.
The 2011/12 figure was the 20th highest in England and the eighth-highest outside London.
The city council insisted the surplus was not a “profit” but an excess.
A spokesman said: “This information was already publicly available in our annual parking report.
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“The report also states that the surplus from parking is reinvested in the service, improving roads and car parks as part of a five-year plan.
“This is not about making a profit but about maintaining a quality parking service.”
The RAC research, compiled from annual returns made to the Department for Communities and Local Government, did not include capital charges, the money councils pay for building and maintenance work.
But even after those were taken into account, the organisation said the total surplus in 2011/12 was still £412 million.
Prof Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “For many local authorities, parking charges are a nice little earner, especially in the capital.
“The bottom line is that hundreds of millions of pounds are being contributed annually to council coffers through parking charges and the drivers who are paying them have a reasonable expectation to see the cash spent on improving the roads.”
Council parking charges came under fresh scrutiny after a landmark High Court landmark ruling stated that authorities should not use parking revenues as a “stealth tax”.
Mrs Justice Lang ruled it was illegal for councils to hike parking charges to subsidise other services.
She ruled that Barnet Council in London acted unlawfully when it increased the cost of parking permits and visitor vouchers in controlled parking zone in residential streets, to raise cash.
The judge ruled the council had breached the 1984 Road Traffic Act, which specifies that the cost of parking is meant to reflect only the cost of regulating it.