“GREEDY” council chiefs have been urged to install new car parking machines after it emerged the local authority made more than £50,000 last year by refusing to give drivers change.

Data obtained by the Advertiser has revealed that Test Valley Borough Council received £55,553 in over payments in the 2014/15 financial year alone, simply through its machines denying motorists change.

For example, the council charges 90p for an hour in the majority of its car parks, meaning it would make 10p extra per stay if drivers only had a £1 coin.

It confirmed none of its pay and display machines give change, with nearly 50 per cent of people paying £1 instead of 90p for a one-hour stay, making up the majority of the overpayment.

Campaigners and shoppers have called on TVBC to install machines which give change to end a system which “adds insult to injury”.

Alliance of British Drivers director Ian Taylor said: “This is a lot of money and the council should be able to afford better machines that give change.

“Drivers want to be treated fairly and bringing in an extra £55,000 by not giving change means it’s a revenue raiser.”

Motorist Eileen Archer, who travels into Andover twice a week to go shopping and meet friends, said: “I think it’s outrageous that none of the machines give change.

“It’s unlikely that you’ll have the exact coins you need every time you go shopping, so I think it’s unfair, especially when machines that do give change exist and are used in other areas.

“I think it’s just greed, drivers have to pay so many taxes and costs these days that this is something we could and should do without. It adds insult to injury.”

TVBC planning policy and transport portfolio holder, Councillor Martin Hatley, said: “There are no current plans to replace the existing cash payment machines but this is regularly kept under review.

“Machines that are capable of giving change are more expensive to purchase and operate, more prone to breakdowns as they have additional moving parts, and more attractive to thieves because of the amount of money they need to store to give change.

“This is why we are exploring more modern technologies and also operate the more flexible RingGo scheme.”

Cllr Hatley said the council had frozen charges for four years and “will be introducing some changes from 1 April 2016 which will make it easier for visitors to pay the correct amount for their stay”.

He added: “We have also recently installed two credit/debit card systems in the Chantry Centre car park so that visitors have an additional option to pay for car parking if they don’t have the correct change.”