More than 3,000 fines were handed out to drivers for parking in an Essex high street in the last year.

Brentwood High Street saw 3,333 parking charge notices (PCNs) issued to drivers between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022, according to a Freedom of Information request by the LDRS.

The data from the North and South Essex Parking Partnerships also revealed £3,812,438.48 was raised from PCNs across Essex during the time period, with £80,571 raised from fines in Brentwood High Street alone.

According to a statement from SEPP, a council-run organisation which brings together street-based parking services in Essex, the money raised from the charges is used to fund parking enforcement and other services.

Read more >>> Southend road named as one of the worse in UK for parking fines

A spokesperson said in a statement: “All revenue received by the SEPP Joint Committee is used to fund parking enforcement, the Traffic Regulation Order team, new parking schemes and initiatives, roads signs maintenance and parking service improvements.

“Any surplus will be allocated to Essex County Council’s strategic highway improvement schemes.

“All SEPP areas have the same level of enforcement patrols, including Brentwood.

At present, we don’t have any insight into why motorists behave in this manner, but we urge them to observe the parking restrictions, which are recognised nationally and incorporated into the Highway Code.”

A spokesperson for Brentwood Borough Council said in a statement: “There is 30 minutes free parking in our Brentwood High Street area car parks, which we encourage people to use if they need to pop to the High Street.

“We have worked with our Street Scene team to initiate a pilot project to introduce planters to try and prevent cars being able to park at certain points in the High Street.  “This pilot has been extended further down the High Street and we are monitoring it to ensure the planters are correctly located and the scheme is making a positive difference. We have also started working with food app delivery companies to talk about options for their delivery drivers.”

Read more >>> Plans for over 500 homes to be built next to Essex hospital given green light

According to the data, Colchester High Street saw the second highest number of fines at 2,987, however their total value was higher than those for Brentwood High Street, raising £124,157.96.

SEPP consists of six boroughs and districts, which are Brentwood, Basildon, Castle Point, Maldon, Rochford and Chelmsford and operates on behalf of Essex County Council through a Joint Committee.

The remaining districts, Braintree, Colchester, Epping Forest, Harlow, Tendring and Uttlesford, are partnered via the North Essex Parking Partnership.

The top streets for parking fines in these Essex districts:

Brentwood: High Street, Brentwood (3,333 PCNs)

Colchester: High Street, Colchester (2,987 PCNs)

Epping Forest: High Street, Epping (814, PCNs)

Chelmsford: Barrack Square, Chelmsford (799 PCNs)

Harlow: North Gate, Harlow (707 PCNs)

Basildon: High Street, Wickford (659 PCNs)

Rochford: High Street, Rayleigh (630 PCNs)

Tendring: Pier Avenue, Clacton-On-Sea, (483 PCNs)

Maldon: High Street, Maldon (384 PCNs)

Braintree: Newland Street, Witham (380 PCNs)

Castle Point: Waarden Road, Canvey Island (258 PCNs)

Uttlesford: High Street, Great Dunmow (177 PCNs)