Only one person has received a fine for leaving their car engine running while parked in Richmond this year, despite a council crackdown. 

Cllr Seamus Joyce asked how many drivers had received fixed penalty notices from anti-idling officers in Richmond at last week’s full council meeting [November 26].

Idling is where drivers leave their vehicle’s engine running while it is stationary – such as waiting at level crossings or waiting outside schools or shops. 

From March this year, drivers who were caught idling in Richmond and refused to turn off their engines when asked were liable to receive a £40 fine. 

In July councillors approved plans for up to 18 extra officers to be deployed across the borough’s Controlled Parking Zones to enforce the rules.

Council papers said the cost of an additional officers would amount to £628,560.

It added that “while the additional number of CEOs will encourage compliance with the parking regulations, it will also increase the number of PCNs issued and so is expected to at least be cost neutral.”

However, Councillor Alexander Ehmann, chair of Richmond Council’s transport and air quality committee, said these officers were there to increase the overall number of parking fines issued, not just for idling.

He admitted there had been just one fixed penalty notice recorded in the period, but argued that the main reason behind the anti-idling initiative was to make people more aware of the dangers and discourage them from doing it again, not collecting fines. 

He added there had been 5,924 warnings for idling in the period to the end of October this year. 

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service he said:

“There was no assumption made frankly that we would gain large numbers of receipts from the anti-idling element, but that we would have, from additional officers, additional receipts from general contraventions of parking, parking on yellow lines or in Controlled Parking Zones and so on.”

He added: “Because of the construct of the law we cannot issue a fine without a warning first and an opportunity to comply, unlike parking contraventions where if you’re in the wrong place, within the bounds of reasonable notice you’re banged to rights. 

“It was never going to be a revenue generation method, it was always intended to allow us to try and change culture and reduce the levels of idling that took place in the borough. 

“The fining element was only going to be the tip of the iceberg for those people that frankly were unrepentant idlers. What we find is the vast majority of people when they’re confronted about it, don’t realise that they’ve done something damaging and very quickly comply.”

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service after the meeting opposition Conservative Councillor, Seamus Joyce said he found the process “quite frustrating” as officers have to warn the motorist before issuing a fine.

He added that while he “fully supports enforcing against idling” the council should have waited until tougher national legislation was in place:

“For all the work that’s gone into it, they’ve only issued one fine so far and it’s tricky,” he said.

“There is new legislation planned by the government actually, so they can fine direct, but that hasn’t come in yet. But until then the anti-idling officers are very limited in what they can do. 

“I think if the council had maybe waited until new legislation had come in, they could just fine motorists on the spot. That legislation will hopefully be in within the next year and finally these 18 anti-idling officers can do some good work.”

In June, the Department for Transport announced it intends to launch a public consultation looking at increasing fines for idling drivers and cracking down on repeat offenders.

According to Westminster Council, car idling produces up to 150 balloons of harmful exhaust emissions per minute and wastes half a gallon of fuel an hour.

The Royal College of Physicians says it is a major contributor to the estimated 40,000 deaths a year linked to air pollution.

The council’s anti-idling campaign has emphasised how idling can damage your vehicle and that you do not need to keep your engine running to stay warm.