Folkestone & Hythe District Council (FHDC) says it’s transparent about parking. The website’s “Off-Street Parking” (Parking Webpage_24/25) page shows you a neat line for fines and lots of spending detail. But when residents exercised their legal right to inspect the accounts for 2024/25, the ledger told a much fuller story: off-street car parks took just over £1.94 million. That’s not a rounding error; that’s the main act quietly waiting in the wings while the audience is shown the warm-up.
From FHDC’S Accounts for FY 2024/25
Let’s compare and contrast exactly what’s there — and what isn’t — and decide whether drivers are being treated like citizens or cash cows in pay-and-display disguises.
What The Council Shows You (Website 2024/25)
-
An off-street section that does list “Parking Fines.”
-
But it does not show a clear off-street figure for the big revenue line — “Parking Charges” (car-park takings) — nor off-street season tickets, residents’ permits, miscellaneous income, or any off-street total.
In short: you can see the bucket labelled “fines”, but the actual milk churn from car-park fees isn’t on display in the off-street block. (Handy, if you’d prefer people not to notice how much the cow is producing.)
What The Books Say (Public Inspection Of The Accounts 24/25)
The official ledger for off-street parking (the authoritative accounting record opened for public inspection) shows everything, item by item, for 2024/25:
-
Parking charges (car-park fees): £1,671,914.42
-
Parking fines (PCNs): £138,669.73
-
CP season ticket income: £56,099.88
-
Residents’ parking permits: £64,436.78
-
Miscellaneous income: £12,956.02
-
Banking adjustments: £113.88 (credit)
Grand total (off-street income): £1,943,962.95.
These are not estimates, aspirations, or vibes. They’re the numbers that underpin the Statement of Accounts.
Compare & Contrast (24/25 Off Street Parking Only)
| Category (Off-Street) | What the website’s off-street block shows | What the inspected accounts show |
|---|---|---|
| Parking charges (car-park fees) | Not shown | £1,671,914.42 |
| Parking fines (PCNs) | Shown | £138,669.73 (matches) |
| CP season ticket income | Not shown | £56,099.88 |
| Residents’ parking permits | Not shown | £64,436.78 |
| Miscellaneous income | Not shown | £12,956.02 |
| Banking adjustments | (Website lists a small entry elsewhere) | £113.88 (credit) |
| Total (Off-Street) | Not shown | £1,943,962.95 |
The punchline: the single biggest off-street revenue stream — car-park fees of ~£1.67m — isn’t presented in the off-street block the public would reasonably rely on to understand off-street performance. Instead, you see fines — the side salad — while the main course stays in the kitchen.
Are Residents & Guests Being Treated Like Cash Cows
When nearly £2 million is collected in off-street income in a single year — and the clearest public-facing off-street view spotlights only fines — it’s hard not to feel like a walking, parking, contactless udder. The ledger shows where the money truly comes from; the website, for off-street, largely doesn’t. If you sense a gentle milking at the meters, the accounts suggest it’s not your imagination.
What Clarity Matters (And What The Rules Expect)
-
Public inspection rights exist so residents can compare published information with the underlying accounting records.
-
The spirit of national transparency guidance is simple: publish parking income in a way a normal person can follow — on-street vs off-street, fines vs fees — and make it reconcilable to the accounts.
Right now, the ledger tells a complete off-street story; the off-street web view doesn’t. That gap undermines trust — and invites the “cash cow” accusation.
A Straightforward Fix
-
Publish a full off-street breakdown on the website for 2024/25: charges, fines, CP season tickets, residents’ permits, miscellaneous, adjustments — and an off-street total.
-
Add a one-page reconciliation to the accounts so residents can tick and tie the figures themselves. (If you’re confident the cow is legitimate, you shouldn’t mind people seeing the full herd.)
Verdict
The books (2024/25) show off-street car parks yielding £1.94m, led by £1.67m in parking charges. The website’s off-street view doesn’t show that headline number — only fines and spend detail. Until FHDC publishes the whole off-street picture in the off-street section, motorists will reasonably suspect they’re being milked, not informed.
Or to put it in local-government dialect: the meter is clear, the message isn’t. Show the public the whole cow, not just the parking-fine pail.
The Shepway Vox Team
Discernibly Different Dissent
