Traffic cameras net over £3.8m in fines

City drivers caught by automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras have paid more than £3.8 million, the Local Democracy Reporting Service has learned.

A Freedom of Information request shows Southampton City Council’s eight fixed ANPR cameras have detected 138,455 motorists since the first sites went live eight years ago.

Violation notices were issued for driving in bus lanes, travelling on restricted access roads and stopping on zigzag lines outside schools.

The Shirley Road bus lane has the highest number of PCNs at over 44,902.

The site has also accumulated the highest revenue – £1,211,041 since going live in 2016.

A bus barrier at Vincent’s Walk, opened two years after Shirley Road, stopped 44,078 drivers.

Of the cameras enforcing zigzag line restrictions outside schools, the Ludlow Infant/Junior site recorded the highest number of drivers, with 1,363 PCNs issued.

A roadblock set up in Portland Terrace at the end of February has already intercepted more than 4,000 unauthorised vehicles.

Southampton ANPR Cameras

PCNs cost £70 but are reduced to £35 if paid within 21 days.

Local authority forecasts suggest that current ANPR enforcement sites, together with road traffic enforcement (MTE), would bring in £3.07 million over the next five years.

If a council plan to add three more cameras were put forward, the projected figure would rise to around £4.4m.

Eamonn Keogh, cabinet member for environment and transport, said the council had said excess revenue raised from the ANPR was being spent on improving highways and taking steps to improve public transport.

Earlier this year, a report to cabinet indicated that three additional locations could be introduced.

“The council will only introduce new MTE sites if it has evidence of a high level of breaches that cannot be reduced through engineering or education,” Mr Keogh said, adding that the sites would be announced publicly.

A controversial bus door trial is set to take place in Portswood Road next year as part of a major motorway project.

The city council would not disclose the cost of installing the ANPR cameras and purchasing the mobile enforcement vehicle, citing commercial interests.

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