Just how much might Keane Duncan’s parking policy cost, should it come to fruition?

The Conservative Party Candidate won’t be drawn on a figure, but he accepts the one year pilot may cost ‘millions.’

But councils will not lose out, he says, as shortfalls will be covered by the extra government funding the mayoralty would receive from central government.

During 2022/23, the total off-street parking income received by City of York Council was £7.8million.

READ MORE:

However, there appears to be no public breakdown of the total income generated by stays of two hours or less.

Either way, parking is highly profitable for City of York Council.

Official government figures released in October showed that in 2022/23, the council made a profit of £7.135million from parking and related fines.

This was the tenth highest of all the councils in the country and it compares with a £5.5million profit made in 2021/22.

North Yorkshire's total expected income from parking this coming year (2024/25) is £12.9m.

The total income raised for car parking for 2 hours or under across North Yorkshire is expected to be £3.9m.

However, the total cost of reimbursing the council for free parking wouldn't be as high as this as it won't be every car park and might not be two hours in every town. Each location will be tailored to the needs and priorities of that area.

As Keane Duncan said in announcing his parking policy: “The total cost of the initiative, to be funded by new mayoral investment funding, would be determined based on the detail of each proposal.”

The election for the mayoralty takes place on Thursday May 2, the same day as local elections in other parts of England and Wales.

The candidates confirmed so far are Felicity Cunliffe-Lister (Liberal Democrat); Keane Duncan (Conservative); Kevin Foster (Green); Paul Haslam (Independent); David Skaith (Labour Co-op) and Keith Tordoff (Independent).