Council could make £1m in fines after more than 1,000 motorists caught breaking rules at busy Northampton junction

The council could around £1 million in fines from a new traffic enforcement camera at a busy junction in Northampton after more than 1,000 motorists have been caught breaking the rules so far.

West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) recently installed an automatic number plate recognition camera (ANPR) at the Fishponds Road junction with Great Billing Road.

The junction is a left-turn only and the camera catches any motorists who turn right.

Since its inception on February 16, the ANPR camera at this junction has caught 1,192 breaking the rules by turning right.

In the first six months of the camera going live, motorists are being given a first written warning by WNC. Further offences will see drivers issued a penalty charge notice (PCN) of £70, reduced to £35 if paid within the first 21 days.

If the offences continue at a rate of 1,192 every month, then WNC can expect to receive £1 million a year, if everyone pays the maximum £70 fine. Fines from the cameras will go to council funds.

A council spokesman said: “These new measures aren’t about ‘punishing’ drivers at all but helping them by trying to ease congestion keep our roads safe and keep the traffic and bus flowing in our town. We know some people have expressed concerns about them, but many more also support what we are doing and we have received requests to look at introducing these measures in other areas of West Northamptonshire.

"We want people to know where this enforcement is taking place and to be aware of the rules of the road in these areas so that they don’t fall foul of the law and help us to keep traffic moving.”

WNC also set up an ANPR camera close to its offices in Angel Square, which catches motorists who stop inside a yellow-hatched box with no means of exiting.

Between February 1 and March 1, the Angel Square camera caught more than 800 drivers, meaning if it continues at that rate, and everyone pays the maximum £70 fine, WNC will make roughly £700,000 a year from it.

Cameras have also been installed at Hermitage Way in Wootton, which is a bus-only route. Since that camera went live on February 16, 123 people have been caught breaking the rules.

The council is also set to introduce new cameras at the Horsemarket junction with Marefair. It is not yet known when.

All of these cameras were introduced following a consultation by WNC which resulted in just 141 responses from a population of 420,000 people.

This newspaper asked WNC if any of its employees took part in the consultation.

A council spokesman said: “WNC identified six potential sites through a comprehensive review following engagement with key stakeholders including the police, fire, and health services. These sites were presented to the public for their consideration as part of public consultation. The consultation did not ask staff if they work for WNC, as this was not relevant to the outcome, and only asked if they visit Northampton for work, which received three responses.”