Council challenged over collapse in parking enforcement

Oldham’s independent-backed Labour Council has been challenged over a collapse in parking fines from enforcement after the service was taken in house in 2025. 

Since the service moved in house on June 27, 2025, fines collected have fallen by just over 22%, a freedom of information request from the Liberal Democrats revealed. In 2024, the Council collected £845,264, which fell to just £587,820 in 2025. 

Local Lib Dem councillor Sam Al-Hamdani said: “No-one wants to get a parking ticket, but what people do get frustrated about is the amount of time that they see people getting away with it. 

“I drive in Oldham, and I’m pretty certain that we haven’t seen the number of people parking illegally fall by a quarter in six months. This about a lack of enforcement, and it’s simply not good enough.”

While the Council could not provide figures on the number of enforcement officers in place before the service was taken in house, the information they had showed as many as 17 officers issuing fines in the period before the service was taken in house, but the in-house service had only 11 enforcement officers. 

Councillor Al-Hamdani added: “When you see cars blocking traffic, causing tailbacks by parking inconsiderately, or even causing safety issues by parking on double yellow lines or even across junctions, you simply want this to be dealt with.

“People need to be more considerate of others when they are parking, and if they refuse to do so, then they need to be dealt with. Simple.”