Manchester council rakes in over £440k from just SIX junctions in a year
Manchester council raked in more than £440,000 worth of fines from just SIX junctions last year, in a crackdown on offences in 'high-risk' yellow box areas.
According to new figures released by the RAC following an FOI request, the authority dished out 13,130 penalties in 2024, more than anywhere else in the UK.
The equivalent of 36 fines a day, this brought in £446,706. That figure accounts for nearly half of all yellow box-related revenue outside London and Cardiff.
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In 2023, councils received additional powers from the government to enforce rules relating to 'moving traffic offences', most notably including box junctions.
The RAC has previously issued warnings that the disproportionate number of fines issued by a small number of councils, including Manchester council, could suggest there are problems with the design or location of the boxes.
Offences enforced by the fines include ignoring yellow box markings, making a right or left turn when prohibited, or driving the wrong way down a one-way street.
The fines are enforced with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras, which allow the council to issue the Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). Drivers are fined £70 for a contravention, which is reduced to £35 if the sum is paid within 21 days of it being issued.
Manchester council told the Manchester Evening News restrictions which could only be enforced by the police were take on by the authority following a consultation in 2022.
It added that it was 'pleased to see that the majority of motorists using these junctions obey the rules of the road and help prevent unnecessary gridlock'.
Kirkmanshulme Lane at its junction with Mount Road, close to Belle Vue train station, made the most money.
The six junctions in Greater Manchester at the centre of the fines are understood to be:
Cheetham Hill Road / Elizabeth Street – No right turn
Ashton Old Road / Chancellor Lane / Fairfield Street – Yellow box
Princess Parkway / Palatine Road – Yellow box
Great Ancoats Street / Oldham Road / Oldham Street – Yellow box
Kirkmanshulme Lane / Mount Road – Compulsory left turn / Yellow box
Wilmslow Road / M56 junction 6 – Ahead Only
Manchester council accounted for 49 per cent, just under half, of all the revenue from yellow box fines outside London and Cardiff.
During the same period, Reading Borough Council, which has eight junctions it can enforce compared to Manchester City Council's six, issued 1,638 fines.
Meanwhile Gloucester County Council raised just £945 from 30 fines on their single yellow box over the same period - less than a single day's fines for Manchester council.
Manchester council was also well ahead of the second highest authority, issuing nearly three times as many fines as the 4,433 by Medway council.
Before May 2022 only councils in London and Cardiff could enforce yellow box junctions, but freedom of information requests sent to councils which applied for these powers has revealed that 36 boxes outside London and Cardiff are now being enforced.
These laws were still in effect in those authorities before the new rules, but only the police and not local authorities had powers to enforce them.
According to the Highway Code, drivers must not enter a yellow box unless the exit from the box is clear or they are waiting for a gap in oncoming traffic so they can safely turn right.
Guidance issued to councils says that during the first six months of a box being operational they should issue warning notices to drivers the first time they break the rules, instead of a fine.
This allows drivers to familiarise themselves with the box rather than springing it on motorists, though if they do it again or after that six month period then they will receive a fine.
A spokesperson for Manchester council said: "Following a consultation in 2022 the Council took on board powers to enforce against moving traffic contraventions (MTCs) in a select number of locations throughout the city.
"Up until that point these were restrictions which could only be enforced by the police, which meant that a minority of motorists were able to break the rules of the road without any consequence.
"Cameras were put in place to monitor specific junctions for manoeuvres such as illegal right or left turns, or blocking yellow hatched boxes. We know the vast majority of motorists find these incidents extremely frustrating as they can snarl up traffic, cause delays and inflame tensions on the road.
"These measures were put in place to act as a deterrent for this sort of behaviour and we are pleased to see that the majority of motorists using these junctions obey the rules of the road and help prevent unnecessary gridlock.
"Before these measures were put in place a campaign was launched to advise motorists, and the junctions where cameras are in place are clearly signposted warning that cameras are in operation.
"A six-week period of grace was also implemented to allow the scheme to take root without penalising drivers getting used to the new layout, and any first offences within the first six months were only sent a warning letter."
RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis said that the enormous disparity should sound 'alarm bells'.
"The enormously high number of penalty charge notices being raised in just a few council areas suggests things are awry," said Mr Dennis. "The large number of penalties being dished out over a small number of locations and in a short space of time should send alarm bells ringing in council offices."
He added that the massive disparity could mean that the boxes are not working properly in the councils issuing the most fines, and criticised their potentially being seen as an automotive golden goose for cash-strapped local authorities.
'As the data shows, not every council now enforcing yellow boxes is generating a huge amount of money from fines," he said. "In fact, a small number of fines – and a small number of appeals – indicates a yellow box that's working as it should.
"This should be the ambition behind any yellow box that a council is looking to start enforcing, rather than being seen as a revenue-raising opportunity."
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