Car parking income from council car parks in Chelmsford has increased by almost £1million in four years.

From £5.57 million in 2014 the amount motorist paid out in 18/19 was £6.49 million.

The most was made at High Chelmer where £1.57m was taken in 18/19 – up from £1.1m in 2014/2015.

The city saw price increases across its car parks at the end of January 2018.

High Chelmer and the Meadows multi-storey saw increases of 50p from £14 to £14.50 for up to eight hours.

The charges make up a significant part of the council’s annual income.

A spokesperson for Chelmsford City Council said: “Safe and secure car parking provision at a competitive cost is important for the vitality and continued growth of the city centre.

“Parking income enables us to fund improvements and continue to maintain good parking facilities to cater for a growing city.

“Over the past couple of years, we have continued to invest in new technologies, such as increased CCTV and new pay-on-foot equipment at five car parks.

“Additionally, the council installed electric vehicle charging points in two of its car parks (Baddow Road and Fairfield Road) with plans to install more charging points in the future.

“As a result of on-going investments, we are proud to say all of our carparks are now accredited with the ‘Park Mark’ quality standard.”