We are not talking apples and pears but parking fines. We are often grumping about penalty charge notices (PCNs) in Ludlow. At times, there is a feeling that we are targeted. Is that the case? I thought I’d take a look on how many fines are handed out across the county. In 2017/18, Shropshire Council’s civil enforcement officers handed out nearly 14,000 PCNs. Half of them were, unsurprisingly, slapped on windscreens in Shrewsbury. Bridgnorth came next, followed by Ludlow. Trailing by some way is Oswestry.
Nearly 40 tickets a day were issued across the unitary area, five of them in Ludlow. They raised an income of around £440,000, rather less than the £590,000 cost of running the civil enforcement service.