Local authorities raising millions of pounds through car parking charges have for too long treated motorists as a "cash cow", a leading councillor has told BBC Politics East.
Government data looked at by the BBC shows councils in the East of England raised £38m in profit in 2024-25 - up from £36m in 2021-22.
"We need to stop punishing the motorist and encourage people on to our high streets," said Richard Rout, a Conservative member of the cabinet on Suffolk County Council.
The councils said they used the money to invest in road safety, public transport and sustainable transport schemes.
The government said "penalty charges should be fair" and it was "considering new evidence from the parking sector on current fine levels".
In 2024-25, 20 councils in the East of England each made more than £1m in profit from charging for on-street and off-street parking.
Milton Keynes Council made £10m, the highest amount in the region, while Southend-on-Sea made £6.8m.
Rout said: "In my home town of Bury St Edmunds, one of the car parks has just gone up by 20% in a year. That is just not on."
"I think for too long councils have treated motorists at best as a cash cow and at worst as the enemy."
Robin Hunter-Clarke, the first Reform UK councillor in Norfolk, sits on Breckland Council, which does not charge for parking.
He said: "We are trying to keep our high streets alive and it is totally immoral to have the high costs of car parking charges across other areas.
"It's a huge cost for people and we have got to be doing more to encourage people to use the high street."
Elisa Meschini, Labour group leader on Cambridgeshire County Council, said councils had lost 80% of their government funding so they "need to make money somewhere".
She added: "Parking infrastructure is expensive to maintain and some places like Cambridge, for example, have a low supply of parking spaces so you need to keep the turnover of spaces."
Jack Cousens, from the AA, said that, nationally, official data showed councils in England had made £1.2bn from car parking charges.
Mr Cousens, the motoring organisation's head of roads policy, said far too many councils "create new ways and reasons to plunder more money from people with cars, often on low incomes travelling in for work".
A Department for Transport spokeswoman said: "Parking enforcement plays an important role in keeping roads safe and traffic flowing, however penalty charges should be fair.
"We're carefully considering new evidence from the parking sector on current fine levels, and will respond in due course."
Milton Keynes Council said it had a "unique city centre structure, and Milton Keynes City Council receives parking revenue from around 20,000 city centre spaces".
A spokesman added: "This revenue is ring-fenced, meaning it legally has to be used on specific transport-related services and infrastructure.
"This means investment into areas like road safety, public transport, bus fare concessions, sustainable travel schemes and more."
Daniel Cowan, leader of Southend-on-Sea City Council, said: "We get seven million visitors a year, which is great for the local economy but puts huge strain on our highways network adding significant wear and tear and creating a £6m annual maintenance bill.
"Income raised through parking charges goes straight back into Southend by helping us fix roads improve our highways and invest in the infrastructure and services that keeps our city moving."
A West Suffolk Council spokesman said: "No council makes a profit from any service - describing it as such is misleading.
"The council invests heavily in its car parks to ensure they are safe and attractive places to park and all 30 of them have been independently assessed."
A St Albans City and District Council spokesman said: "The use of parking charges is an important tool which can influence the turnover of parking spaces and help regulate demand.
"The cost of parking must be at a level to also cover the cost of managing parking operations, parking spaces and other parking related services."
BBC Politics East will be broadcast on Sunday 26 October at 10:00 GMT on BBC One in the East of England, and will be available after broadcast on BBC iPlayer.
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