A disastrous camera-operated car park scheme cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of pounds every year, the Bucks Free Press can now reveal after a lengthy investigation into the true cost of the council’s failed experiment.

After pressuring Wycombe District Council (WDC) to release figures showing the full extent of the damage, it has emerged that almost the same amount of money has been raised in fines in three months since the scheme was scrapped compared to two years of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR).

Damning figures obtained by a Freedom of Information request show on average 86 per cent* fewer fines were handed out while ANPR was in force.

And only £72,168 was raised over two years – just £500 more than pay-and-display has raised in three months after the council finally completed a U-turn on the scheme.

In February this year, Tory-run WDC was forced to replace the £680,000 camera-operated system with pay-and-display after the failings were uncovered by the Free Press in 2016.

The investigation questioned whether ANPR had the capability to fine drivers who left car parks without paying – with the council insisting it had no alternative to change the system, following the government’s decision to restrict data held by the DVLA.

Since the shocking revelation, the cabinet member responsible for the failed scheme, Cllr Jean Teesdale, has stepped down from the environment portfolio after facing calls to resign.

Opposition Labour councillor, Khalil Ahmed, slammed the “irresponsible” decision to introduce the ANPR system and called for WDC to explain how it will recover the losses.

He said: “In light of this, does it seem surprising that the WDC leader chose to shuffle her cabinet membership resulting in the cabinet member responsible for car parks being replaced?

“At a time of major cuts to public services, to undertake an initiative to introduce and replace the ANPR system was simply irresponsible and failure to carry out the necessary due diligence can be only described as negligent.

“It is only right that the people of Wycombe are told the full story of this catastrophe and what efforts will be made to recover the losses.”

From 2011 to 2013 – the two years before ANPR was rolled out across the district – the council collected £586,438 in fines compared with £72,168 over the two years ANPR was in force.

In total, the Free Press estimates WDC shockingly raised 87.7 per cent* less money while ANPR was in action from 2014 to 2016 and on top of this had to fork out a further £160,000 of taxpayers’ money to repair machines which were repeatedly targeted by vandals.

Our investigation has found that as much as £257,000* could have been lost every year if ANPR continued, with the cost of the farcical system likely to be into millions.

*The calculation is based on the difference between the yearly average of money raised in the two years prior to the installation of ANPR compared with the average from the main two-year period when the camera-operated system was in force.

Full Wycombe District Council response:

In common with many private and public sector parking operators, we believe ANPR provides a modern parking management solution with many benefits.

These benefits include a more customer friendly experience, reduced running costs and less need for enforcement, due to fewer parking contraventions.

There is a common misconception that car park operators want to fine motorists to increase their income - this is not true.

Fines spoil the customer’s experience, resulting in motorists potentially not returning to a car park or a destination. There is also significant time and costs associated with issuing and processing penalty tickets. After the council had installed ANPR in 2014, the government made the decision to restrict access by local authorities to registered keeper data held by the DVLA.

This occurred despite the council conducting successful trials in two car parks in 2013, seeking external legal advice and consulting the DVLA, which anticipated no problems with our proposal to introduce ANPR for enforcement. We were led to believe that the government was working on plans for wider ANPR usage across the public sector.

This change was anticipated by other parking operators and it was widely expected that the changes would have been introduced before now. However, there is no clear timescale as to when this may happen. We therefore decided to revert to pay-and-display in February as the council could not continue using ANPR while the current restrictions remain in place.

It is a frustrating position to be in and it is disappointing that there appears to be no imminent plans to introduce changes that would allow councils to use ANPR. We know reverting to pay-and-display is not the ideal outcome for our customers and we are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.

However, we continue to believe ANPR offers a more convenient parking solution and should the government lift the current restrictions on local authorities, the council will have the option to revert to ANPR in the future.