Kirklees Council losing £260,000 a month on car park revenue

But a leading councillor stressed: “No amount of income is worth risking lives for.”

Ticket revenue has plummeted since shoppers, workers and commuters stopped using municipal car parks across the borough.

But whilst Kirklees’ losses are serious they do not compare with some larger authorities elsewhere in England.

Officers at Exeter City Council in Devon said car parking income was down by 98.8% and reported losses of more than £1m a month as a result of the pandemic.

In early April Exeter took just £1,954 of income against a budget of £160,000.

Kirklees, which took two weeks to present its figures, did not reveal how much money its car parks had made since travel restrictions were introduced or how much income would have made during normal operations despite a request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Instead it issued a statement.

Councillor Rob Walker, Cabinet Member for Environment said: “The vast majority of people are following Government advice and only travelling when it is essential.

“This means that the council expects lost parking revenue of around £260,000 for every four weeks in lockdown.

“No amount of income is worth risking lives for and we would like to thank people for continuing to follow Government advice to stay at home.”

According to its website the council offers more than 7,000 parking spaces in 95 off-street locations as well as more than 1,200 on-street pay-and-display spaces.

It recently closed the 588-space Market Hall car park in Huddersfield town centre due to safety fears.