More than 200 parking tickets were issued in Hadleigh during 222/223, according to Babergh District Council figures

This was despite Babergh-run car parks offering three hours free parking, subsidies by district council tax-payers.

Civil enforcement officers made 5,234 separate car park visits to the 20 Babergh-run car parks, 3,040 of which were in Sudbury, 1,722 in Hadleigh, 326 in Chelmondiston and 146 in Lavenham.

Those car parks total 1,580 spaces and, between April 1 2022 and March 31 2023, the most recent data available, some 2,401 penalty charge notices (PCNs) were issued to motorists. 

The Magdalen Road Car Park in Hadleigh recorded 204 PCNs during that period. 

Car parks where zero PCNs were issued include Quay Lane in Sudbury and Prentice Street in Lavenham. 

According to the data, Station Road Car Park in Sudbury saw the highest number of PCNs handed out to drivers, with 747 issued. 

Meanwhile The Station Car Park, North Street Car Park and Girling Street Car Park, all also in Sudbury, saw 365, 261 and 223 PCNs handed out.

The income from these tickets came in at £58,957, while the council's expenditure, which includes employee costs and is paid to West Suffolk and Ipswich councils, came in at £86,095 meaning a net spend of £27,138 was recorded. 

This is purely the cost of enforcement and doesn't cover any investment in Babergh car parks or the wider parking strategy.

The cost of subsidising the free parking cost Babergh about £425,000 last year and it is set to increase this year, and a cost recovery programme is vital to balance the budget over the next four years.

CPE van (Picture: Nub News)

A Babergh spokesperson said: "We have a statutory duty to carry out civil parking enforcement but, contrary to what many motorists may believe, it costs us more to enforce parking than we make out of penalty charge notices issued. 

"The proposal to change our existing parking charges is not about trying to generate income from fines. It's about motorists paying a modest amount to park, so that we can use the money that is currently being spent subsidising 'free' parking to invest in our car parks and encourage more sustainable travel.

"It would also mean we could afford more frequent visits by enforcement officers to our car parks, making them safer places to park, and increased patrols for surrounding streets – something we know many residents are keen to see."