Nearly 700 motorists taken to county court by council over controversial Northampton bus lane fines

New figures have been revealed regarding a controversial bus lane in Northampton which show that more than 3,000 fines remain unpaid.

Northampton motorist Simon Shardlow - who recently won his appeal against the council's bus lane fine, with the adjudicator saying the matter was "trivial and should be disregarded" by the law - submitted a Freedom of Information request to the West Northamptonshire Council

The 65-year-old asked the council how many appeals have been lodged, how many appeals have won, how many fines remain unpaid, and how many fines have been sent to county court.

The bus lane in St James' Road, opposite Westbridge Garage, has been labelled a 'cash cow' by motorists, Chron readers and councillors alike.

Here's a breakdown of figures between February 15 and June 11:

- How many appeals have been lodged: 1,803

- How many penalty charge notices (PCN) appeals have been accepted :103 cases have been cancelled as result of an appeal

- How many of the PCNs were issued to vehicles that were observing the bus lane regulations, but moved into the bus lane to undertake a vehicle turning right into Westbridge Garage? A West Northamptonshire Council spokesperson said: "We confirm we do not hold this information."

- How many £30 fines have been paid: 7,801

- How many £60 fines have been paid: 226

- How many £90 fines have been paid: 299

- How many fines PCN's remain unpaid: 3,078

- How many non-payment of fines have been passed to the County Court: 653

These figures were put to the council.

Cllr Phil Larratt, in charge of transport at WNC, said: “As already outlined, each instance has its own circumstances and must be assessed on those, whilst following the statutory appeals process.

“There is a cost to dealing with enforcement and appeals, and that is built into the process, so there is no additional burden on the taxpayer.

"Any income from enforcement is used to fund council services.”

Councillor Larratt recently announced in a report that he has requested that the bus lane and the enforcement camera's operating hours are reverted back to the previous peak hour schedule - which was from 7am to 9am on Mondays to Saturdays.