Richmond Council expects to make more than £12m in parking fees and charges for the second year in a row in 2016/17.

It collected £12.3m from motorists during 2015/16 and it is predicting it will increase by 2.8 per cent to £12.6m – almost £1m up on the 2014/15 figure of £11.8m.

Despite the income, made from the borough’s 26 car parks and 38 controlled parking zones (CPZs), the council is considering further “modest increases”.

The figures came from Richmond Council Cabinet papers published in February.

Deputy leader Councillor Geoffrey Samuel said: “It is up to you whether you pay a single fee or charge – when people can say ‘I’m not going to pay it’, “I’m perfectly happy to pay more.

“I’m not all that bothered by parking charges but I am very bothered about not being able to park. Personally, when I go to Hounslow to play bridge, it is whether I can park rather than whether I can afford it – I think they can be modestly increased.”

Deputy leader of Richmond’s Liberal Democrats Councillor Alexander Ehmann accused the council of “aggressively targeting” drivers and branded its record “woeful”.

He said: “This Tory administration is perfectly happy to rake in millions of pounds in parking revenues and are even projecting an increase of nearly a million over 2014/15 figures.

“Some charges for parking are fair, but it is clear that this Conservative council is aggressively targeting motorists to compensate for the brutal funding cuts being inflicted on us by their out-of-touch Conservative Government in Westminster.”

Parking in the Embankment, in Twickenham, is £1.35 for an hour or £1 per 30 minutes with reductions for older residents or those with Richmond Cards.

Try Twickenham manager Gerry Barwick said: “Twickenham is an expensive place to park – more than so than Kingston or Teddington. Everyone we speak to says parking is too expensive but nobody likes paying for it.”

She added that a solution may be to lift parking restrictions in the town at 5pm, rather than 6.30pm.

Twickenham residents also said they believe parking in the town was too expensive when the Richmond and Twickenham Times hit the streets last week.

Brigid Yates, who lives in Twickenham, said: “I don’t mind the cost but I do mind not being able to get a space.”

Valerie Dean, 69, from Twickenham, said: “I use my freedom pass on the buses but when I used to drive into town I would use the Holly Road car park.”