Driver fury at £70 parking fine outside schools which sees local council rake in thousands

The fines were in response to vehicles parking onbannedroads near seven schools during drop-off and pick-up times when the roads are only for pedestrians and cyclists.

The penalties paid for by parents dropping their children off at school, has helped generate between £99,225 and £198,450 for the local authority.

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Medway Council introduced the “school streets” initiative in March this year, initially sending warning letters to rule-breakers. But since September, motorists caught driving within restricted zones have faced a £70 penalty charge notice, which is reduced to £35 if paid within 21 days.

The restrictions apply during set hours in the morning and afternoon when children are travelling to and from school. A Freedom of Information request revealed hundreds of fines were being issued weekly after the grace period ended.

Notably, between September and October, enforcement cameras caught thousands of motorists entering the restricted zones. The restrictions vary depending on the school location, but are primarily in place between 8.15am to 9am and in the afternoon between 2.45pm and 4pm.

Despite the huge number of penalties issued, the council stated that all revenue from the fines would be reinvested into the local road network.

Burnt Oak Primary School in Gillingham emerged as the area with the highest number of violations, according to the FOI. In just one week, 358 penalty notices were issued to drivers breaking the rules around this school.

Medway Council is now considering expanding the scheme to include nine additional sites with a consultation being launched in September.

Alex Paterson, Medway Council's portfolio holder for community safety, highways and enforcement, told the BBC: “Every month, around 1,200 children are injured on the road, on their way to school, within 500 metres of their school.”

He emphasised the importance of reducing traffic near schools adding that taking “as many cars as out of that equation” will “inherently” make journeys safer.

The council's cabinet will review the consultation responses at their next meeting on November 19 before deciding to go ahead with nine more regions.

If approved, the scheme would more than double in size, growing from the current seven schools to sixteen sites across Medway. But the scheme has already been met with mixed views from residents in the area with one person stating that it's useful as “parents are getting lazy along with their children”.

The resident shared: “Why can they not walk? The only time my children were driven to school was when they were young, and I was on my way to work! Not driven there so I could go home and paint my nails.”

However, another resident said car parking is necessary as “a large portion of the children do not live within walking distance” of the schools.

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The council ran a consultation on the scheme over October and will now be reviewing the responses from it. If they decide to approve the rollout of more parking restrictions, they could coming into effect in 2025.