TWO Gwent councils made a loss of thousands of pounds on parking in the last financial year, figures have shown.

Nineteen out of 22 local authorities showed a surplus, but both Torfaen and Blaenau Gwent councils made a loss of £81,000 and £310,000 respectively in 2015/16.

Local authorities in Wales made a combined £13.8 million on their parking activities in the last financial year. The figure for 2015-16 was a 14 per cent increase on the £12.1 million surplus made in 2014-15.

The data, which was analysed by the RAC Foundation, comes from the official returns made in a standardised format to the Welsh Government on an annual basis.

The report states both Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen offer free parking but may still issue penalty charge notices.

A Blaenau Gwent spokeswoman said: “Blaenau Gwent Council does not currently charge for parking anywhere in the county borough as the regeneration of our town centres is a key priority.

“We have determined that this outweighs the cost of maintaining our car parks and we welcome all shoppers looking for free parking to visit us.”

The deputy leader of Torfaen council, Cllr Anthony Hunt, added: “Even in the face of severe budget cuts, the council has resisted the temptation to introduce punitive parking charges for council car parks as we believe it would lead to a loss of trade, jobs and make Torfaen a less attractive place to do business.”

The most ‘efficient’ council was Monmouthshire, with an income of £1.42 million, and expenditure of £490,000. It had a surplus of £931,000 in 2015/16, which is an increase of 26 per cent from 2014/2015.

Caerphilly council had a surplus of £190,000 last year and Newport council a surplus of £137,000, which is a 113 per cent increase from 2014/15.

Monmouthshire’s head of operations, Roger Hoggins, said: “Sound management and effective administration mean that we have restricted the costs of running our car parks, so we’re not surprised that the RAC Foundation recognises Monmouthshire as an efficient council in this respect.

“Surplus income is directed to the authority’s revenue budget but is redistributed towards traffic management as well as car park and highway maintenance.

“We are now investing car park income into extra car parks, new equipment and also refurbishment.”

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “It is important that the surplus is ploughed back into transport projects – there are plenty on Welsh motorists’ wish-lists, not least the ongoing campaign to tackle potholes.

“While we don’t want our towns and cities dominated by the car, we must remember how dependent many people still are on them. In several areas of Wales – including Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen – more than 80 per cent of those in employment rely on the car to get to work.”

Newport City Council and Caerphilly council were contacted for comment.