Thousands of drivers have been fined nearly £300k by six traffic enforcement cameras in just six months – with one controversial yellow box in Northampton proving particularly effective.

The camera at St John's Street, outside West Northamptonshire Council's One Angel Square offices, alone accounted for around 2,700 penalty charge notices and £148,550 in fines between January and June.

Across the six locations, around 6,120 PCNs were issued, generating around £276,150 in recorded income, according to council data.

St John's Street

placeholder image — The camera at St John's Street, outside West Northamptonshire Council's One Angel Square offices, alone accounted for around 2,700 penalty charge notices and £148,550 in fines between January and June.

The St John's Street camera enforces a yellow box junction at Victoria Gardens and St John's Street in Northampton.

It issued around 2,700 PCNs, generating around £148,550 between January and June.

Fishponds Road

The Fishponds Road camera enforces a no-right-turn restriction at the junction with Great Billing Way.

Around 1,760 PCNs were issued, generating around £65,450.

Marefair

The Marefair camera, near Sol Central, enforces banned left and right turns at the Horsemarket junction with Gold Street and Mare Fair.

Around 650 PCNs were issued, generating around £23,800.

Deanshanger Road

The Deanshanger Road camera enforces a no-entry restriction, with access allowed for buses, in Old Stratford.

Around 490 PCNs were issued, generating around £17,900.

Hermitage Way

The Hermitage Way camera, in Wootton, enforces a vehicle-restricted route, with the route reserved for buses, in Wootton.

Around 360 PCNs were issued, generating around £16,700.

Gold Street

The Gold Street camera enforces a no-entry restriction, except for cycles, in Northampton.

Around 160 PCNs were issued, generating around £3,750.

Totals since 2024

Since their inception, the cameras listed above have issued 31,700 penalty charge notices to 28,000 individual vehicles between February 2024 and June 2026.

Moving traffic penalties at the current locations are £70, reduced to £35 if paid within 21 days.

If all 31,700 notices were paid at the discounted £35 rate, that would mean £1.1 million in the council's coffers.

If every one was paid at the full £70 rate, the figure would be £2.2 million in the council's pocket.

Of the 28,000 vehicles issued with PCNs, 26,000 – or 91.5 per cent – received just one PCN, while around 2,400 were repeat offenders.

The council says this shows the cameras are helping to ‘change driver behaviour’.

Those who oppose the cameras have slammed them as ‘cash cows’ for the council.

Click here to see the figures for 2025.

New cameras planned

The figures come as West Northamptonshire Council prepares to approve another 10 traffic enforcement cameras across Northampton.

The proposed sites include yellow box junctions, banned turns and a no-entry/one-way restriction.

However, they are being introduced despite only 419 people responding to the council's consultation on the new locations, despite West Northamptonshire having a population of around 400,000.

The council says the cameras are intended to ‘improve road safety, traffic flow, congestion and air quality’.

Explaining where the money goes, a WNC spokesman said: “Firstly PCNs cover the costs of the service such as enforcement, equipment, software systems, staff, supplies and services. Any surplus is used to improve public transport, highway projects and environmental improvements which are in accordance with statutory regulations set out by Government.”

Councils in England outside London were given the right to apply for powers – by the former Conservative government – to enforce moving traffic offences using cameras from 2021.