In February, Medway Council introduced the enforcement of Moving Traffic Offences across the towns. While this sort of enforcement previously had to be carried out by the police, powers now grant councils the ability to manage their own enforcement and, crucially, generate revenue from fines issued.
As part of a broader traffic enforcement policy that includes Red Routes and School Streets, a tranche of locations were chosen for enforcement, with cameras to catch drivers entering pedestrianised areas, yellow boxes, and turning where they shouldn’t.
Six months on, the signs are that the scheme will become rather lucrative for Medway Council.
Figures obtained by the Local Authority show that over 3,000 Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) and nearly 20,000 warning notices have been issued since the scheme's launch.
For the first six months of the scheme, first-time offenders only received a warning notice, with PCNs only being issued to repeat offenders. Given that the figures show an escalation in both warning notices and PCNs through the six-month window, more fines are likely to be generated in the coming months.
The full figures for each location in the six-month window:
Gillingham High Street pedestrianised area - 1,948 PCNs, 6,100 warnings
Rainham High Street no right turn - 498 PCNs, 5,555 warnings
Chatham High Street pedestrianised area - 208 PCNs, 624 warnings
Rainham Road, Gillingham yellow box - 194 PCNs, 3,001 warnings
Cuxton Road, Strood yellow box - 98 PCNs, 1,922 warnings
Rochester High Street pedestrianised area - 57 PCNs, 1,190 warnings
Gibraltar Hill, Chatham yellow box - 36 PCNs, 732 warnings
Chatham Hill yellow box - 16 PCNs, 625 warnings
Perhaps surprisingly, enforcement of Gillingham High Street’s pedestrianised areas makes up nearly a third of the warning notices and nearly two-thirds of the PCNs. Given nearly all of the attention at the start of the scheme was on Rochester, where former councillors claimed cars were being caught every few minutes, a relatively small number of fines have been issued in the area.
Interestingly, the issued warnings seemed to have had a stronger effect in some places than others. The ratio of PCNs to warning letters for yellow box junctions is low, suggesting most drivers receiving a letter heed the warning. Elsewhere, the pedestrianised enforcement on Gillingham and Chatham High Street seems more flagrantly ignored.
So, how lucrative is all of this for Medway Council?
A standard fine for these offences is £60, which would suggest an income of £183,000 in the first six months of the scheme. Of course, things aren’t quite as straightforward as that. People paying within 14 days see their fines reduced to £30, while those taking over 28 days see theirs go to £90.
Some people will inevitably also appeal their fines. We asked Medway Council for that data, but they told us their parking software was too rubbish to generate it.
Still, given that the Moving Traffic Offences enforcement system cost Medway Council £695,000 and that the fines will likely escalate significantly following the more lenient period, they’ll likely turn a profit on these cameras rather quickly.
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