Parking income from Dunfermline last year was over £920k

And a whopping £154,738 came from errant motorists who were given penalty charge notices, with the rest of Fife Council's cash from pay and display machines, Ring Go and permits.

There are 19 car parks managed by the local authority in the City of Dunfermline committee area, seven where you have to pay and 12 where you don't, with a total of 1,927 spaces.

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In 2022-23 the money collected was £924,522 which, apart from fines, totalled £673,107 from car parks, £84,675 of on-street charges and £12,003 from resident permits and season tickets.

However, local councillor Aude Boubaker-Calder said we're not getting our "fair share" of the money spent here.

She said: "Dunfermline is responsible for a huge amount of the parking revenue in Fife but is short-changed when it comes to the devolved parking budget which has allowed local areas to take initiatives to help with parking their areas.

"This kind of initiative allows us to help and increase the footfall for our city centre local businesses which desperately need it."

More than £150,000 of Dunfermline's parking income last year came from penalty charge notices. (Image: Newsquest)

The devolved parking budget gives £100,000 to be split between the seven area committees in Fife to develop their own solutions to local parking issues.

Cllr Boubaker-Calder, who represents Dunfermline Central, said: "In previous years, we have used this for both park and ride services from Leys Park car park and free Sunday parking.

"Just imagine what we could do if we got our fair share.

“I am calling on the administration to recalculate the formula, so Dunfermline receives an amount that more accurately reflects its contribution to Fife’s parking budget.”

There are six long stay car parks in Dunfermline where charges apply: Carnegie Drive (West) with 47 spaces; Glen Bridge (153); St. Margaret Street (61); Viewfield Terrace (115); Walmer Drive (274) and the Carnegie Birthplace Museum (40).

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Charges apply in the short stay car park at Carnegie Drive (East), near the Carnegie Leisure Centre, which has 14 bays.

And there are 56 on-street pay and display spaces, spread across Abbot Street, Bridge Street, Bruce Street, Canmore Street, Chalmers Street, East Port, Maygate and St Catherine's Wynd.

You can park for free at 11 long stay car parks: Abbeyview (98 spaces); Buchanan Street (29); Izatt Avenue (35); Leys Park Road (370); Priory Lane (41); Dunfermline Queen Margaret Railway Station (113); Dunfermline City Railway Station (76); West Drive (20); Woodmill Street (27 and 192); and Pittencrieff Park (198).

And there's no charge to use the Hospital Hill short stay car park, which has 24 bays.

In 2022-23 the occupancy level of the council car parks in Dunfermline was 58 per cent, compared to 69 per cent in 2019-20.

There are 22 long stay car parks in South West Fife, which includes Rosyth, Inverkeithing, Dalgety Bay, Aberdour, Oakley, Valleyfield and Kincardine, with a total of 2,509 spaces.

The only one where you have to pay is at Chapel Place in Inverkeithing, next to the railway station, which has 53 bays.

Parking income for 2022-23 came to £44,343 - £14,850 came from the charges at Chapel Place and £29,492 came from penalty charge notices.

The 21 free car parks are: Livingstone Lane (16 spaces) and railway station (68), both Aberdour; West Balgonie (101) and East Causewayside (65), both Culross; Bay Centre (115), Pentland Rise (39), railway halt (199) and St David's Harbour (40), all Dalgety Bay; Binning Road (7), Ferrytoll Park and Ride (1,042), King Street (160), Queen Street (34) and Belleknowes (212), all in Inverkeithing; Walker Street (67), Kincardine; Battery Road (25), North Queensferry; Aberlour Street (44), Admiralty Road (30), Burnside Crescent (18), Queensferry Road (24), railway station (137), all Rosyth; and Main Street (13) in Saline.

The 1,213 spaces at Halbeath park and ride are in the Cowdenbeath committee area.

Overall the council manages 171 car parks - 29 are fee-paying and mostly in Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and St Andrews - with a total of 12,754 spaces.

In 2022-23 their 'car and lorry parking budget' was more than £3.6m but they brought in just under £3.2m, leaving a shortfall of around £440,000.

The income from Kirkcaldy was £611,611, Cowdenbeath, Levenmouth and Glenrothes brought in £12,679, £7,111 and £6,505 respectively - all from fines - while the real cash cow was in north-east Fife, primarily St Andrews, with £1.13 million.