Most parking fines in North Ayrshire handed out in Largs

The latest figures were revealed following a freedom of information request that was submitted to the local authority.

Traffic wardens have issued 2,432 parking charge notices since the regime of 'decriminalised parking enforcement' (DPE) came into effect in North Ayrshire on March 28, though a 'soft launch' saw warnings handed out, rather than tickets, up to Sunday, April 14.

DPE transfers the power to enforce almost all parking offences away from the police and on to the shoulders of the local authority.

The fines have brought in £85,750, but that figure is doubled for the money brought in by council-owned car parks.

READ MORE: How many parking penalties have been handed out in North Ayrshire so far?

It has been revealed that Largs was the worst offending town overall with 893 offenders in just over three months.

There were 108 people fined at the Gateside Street car park and 107 drivers in the town's Main Street.

Meanwhile, the two council operated parking meters in Largs brought in over £178,000 during the year 2023/24.

The Largs shorefront car park brought in £169,660.85 and £8,949.56 was collected at the Bellman's Close parking spot.

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Elsewhere, the top area for parking abuse was the Chapelwell street car park in Saltcoats with an estimated 237 drivers caught committing offences, followed by 191 at the East Road car park in Irvine and 138 drivers snared on Irvine's High Street.

There were 547 in Saltcoats and 124 drivers in Kilwinning, whilst Ardrossan saw only 41 motorists caught.

Council traffic wardens have been enforcing parking regulations across North Ayrshire since mid-April (Image: Newsquest)

Drivers who break any one of the rules, including a maximum of one hour's parking in the centre of Largs, risk being hit with a penalty charge notice (PCN) of £100, though the fine is reduced to £50 if it's paid within 14 days.

Any fines not paid within 56 days of the issue date would then see the fee increased to £150.

After 71 days the council can issue a charge certificate and if the fine is not paid within another two weeks - and the file will be passed to the sheriff officer which would lead to debt recovery involving the court system.

However, at this stage, no fines have been referred to sheriffs.

Of the fines handed out so far, the most common offence was parking 'out of pay' with an estimated 541 drivers penalised.

Further to this, approximately 524 people have been fine for parking in no waiting areas, 401 for parking on pavements, 236 for exceeding time limits, 135 for parking on loading bays during restricted hours and 119 drivers have parked in disabled bays without displaying a valid badge.

The FOI revealed that 1,565 people who were issued with a fine paid the early rate, whilst 75 paid the higher charge.