A notorious Manchester city centre street dubbed a council parking ‘cash cow’ has earned the town hall more than £730,000 in just three years even though there are only 29 bays, according to new figures obtained by the Manchester Evening News.
For years St John Street in the city centre, home to a number of law chambers, was used by people heading into town to park for free after 8pm. All that changed in January 2024 when a new, single yellow line was painted along the road, prohibiting parking between 8pm and 8am.
In just three years, 22,607 penalty charge notices (PCNs) have been dished out to motorists caught out by the new arrangements, resulting in fines totalling £733,960, according to the new figures.
It equates to fines worth £670 each day.
St John Street, Manchester(Image: Manchester Evening News)
It means St John Street is – by some distance – the worst street in Manchester for parking fines. Thousands have been caught out with many criticising Manchester Council, which makes around £7m a year from parking fines across the borough.
Town hall bosses have defended the number of fines on St John Street, insisting there is plentiful and clear signage alerting motorists to the overnight restrictions. They deny the street is a ‘cash cow’.
Motorists can pay for up to two hours of parking on St John Street until 8pm, but the new single yellow line prohibits parking between 8pm and 8am. The new arrangement, some motorists claim, is confusing as pay machines on the street mention no ban. Some drivers say they have only spotted signs confirming the prohibition after being stung with a £70 fine, reduced to £35 if paid promptly.
Alex Roberts, 46, from Whalley Range, one of a number of drivers caught out, began an appeal against his fine but in the end paid up ‘because of the stress of it all’.
He told the Manchester Evening News: “I didn’t have the energy to fight it anymore. They are fleecing people as far as I’m concerned. I suspect it would generate a third of what it does if they had proper signage in place. And it’s discouraging people from coming into the city centre because multi-storey car parks are getting scandalously expensive too.”
New parking restrictions are in place on St John Street in Manchester city centre(Image: Alex Roberts)
In a letter replying to his appeal, the council told him: “Please note that along with the time plate next to the pay and display machine, there are several time plates noting the restriction on St John Street. The decision on where to locate the signs are made by qualified highways engineers who are experienced in the positioning of road signs to inform drivers to whom they apply. That you did not see the signage does not mean they are non-compliant.”
The figures, obtained following a freedom of information application by ParkAppeal, show that during 2023/4 some 3,037 PCNs were dished out on St John Street, bringing in up to £145,396.
That record placed St John Street in second place of the top Manchester streets for parking fines, with Byrom Street top of the list with 3,473 PCNs and fines totalling £169,522.
But the new parking restrictions introduced in January 2024 saw a tripling in the number of fines handed out on St John Street in 2024/5 when 6,795 PCNs were issued, with fines totalling £355,170.
The following year, 2025/6, saw a reduction in the number of fines on St John Street with 5,501 PCNs and fines worth £280,309. Despite the reduction and the fact it only has 29 parking bays, St John Street maintained its status as the worst street for parking fines in Manchester.
The figures show that, across three years, St John Street generated 22,606 PCNs or fines totalling £733,960, with each bay generating parking fines of £8,436 per year or £23 each day. The street as a whole generates an average estimated £670 in fines each day.
Motorists complain they could not see the parking restriction signs(Image: Alex Roberts)
Although St John Street was comfortably the worst street for fines in Manchester, the year 2024/5 also saw huge increases in fines dished out generally on the ten worst streets. All ten streets saw at least 2,940 PCNs and fines totalling a minimum £144,000 compared to the year before when only two streets saw fines totalling more than £100,000.
A spokesperson for ParkAppeal, which helps motorists challenge fines, said: “The supplied Manchester FOI data shows how concentrated parking enforcement can be around certain streets and certain types of restriction. St John Street, Oxney Road and several resident or shared-use parking areas appear repeatedly in the figures.
“For drivers, the key point is not to rush into paying without checking the notice. If the signs were unclear, the location is wrong, the contravention does not match what happened, or there was valid payment or permit evidence, it may be worth considering a challenge.
The pay machines on St John Street don’t refer to any parking prohibition(Image: Alex Roberts)
“These figures also show why clear signage and easy-to-understand parking restrictions matter. Where the same streets appear repeatedly in high-volume hotspot data, it underlines the importance of restrictions being clearly communicated to drivers.”
A spokesperson for Manchester City Council said: “Along St John Street there are six signs notifying motorists to the overnight parking restrictions, which amounts to approximately one sign per five parking bays. There are also three pay-and-display signs which notify people what the parking times and restrictions are.
“These are clearly marked and due to the low number of parking spaces on this road the Council is confident this provides the correct amount of notice for people using the parking bays. Motorists are able to appeal a fine if they believe it was issued incorrectly.”
The fines referred to above reflect the face value of each fine handed out not the actual amount paid which could be less depending on discounts for prompt payment or successful appeals.