Leeds fares well in permit price wars

The findings from a recent survey by the price comparison website comparethemarket.com reveals that Leeds City Council residents and also those in the Bradford and Wakefield council areas benefit from free parking.

It comes after the website issued Freedom of Information requests to every major council in the UK to find out just how much it costs for residents to park outside their own home.

In Leeds last year there were 9,549 parking permits issued to house-holders, they were free and have been for at least the last five years.

Wakefield issued 2,681 permits and Bradford handed out 2,690.

However, by comparison it was found that Sunderland is the most expensive town to pay for a parking permit in the north, with residents forking out £226 a year to park outside their own home – way above the UK average of £77.

The council which raked in the most cash from parking permits in 2017 alone was Newcastle due to the higher number of residents who had to pay for a permit, where 17,166 residents collectively forked out over £333,248 a year to park by their own home.

Dan Hutson, Head of Motor at comparethemarket.com said: “When moving into a new home, residents up and down the country are unknowingly entering a parking permit lottery. While many of us take for granted the ability to park outside our home without having to worry about a permit, our research shows that’s not the case for every city.”