Dacorum Borough Council made £558,000 from car parking charges during the 2011 to 2012 financial year, according to new figures.
The RAC Foundation statistics indicate that the council increased its income by £168,000 from the previous financial year – a rise of 70 per cent. In the 2009 to 2010 financial year, Dacorum recorded a £451,000 surplus on its parking charges.
The 359 councils across England had a total surplus of £565 million in the latest figures to be released, with Dacorum ranked 191.
With capital projects such as fixing potholes or traffic schemes subtracted from the surplus the total profit for all councils still stood at £412m.
Collectively it represented a £54m increase on income from the previous year and government figures indicate that the rising trend is set to continue.
Councils expect net income from parking services will increase from £601m in 2012/13 to £635m in 2013/14.
It has led to local government secretary Eric Pickles calling on councils to stop making money from car parking charges.
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