West Northamptonshire Bus Lane Fines — Northampton
How many bus lane Penalty Charge Notices West Northamptonshire Council issues across Northampton, from which cameras, how much it raises, and how often challenges succeed — from data released under Freedom of Information (ref FOI-26-009041 & FOI-26-9042).
116,828
PCNs issued in 5 years2021/22–2025/26
£4.00m
gross income, 5 yearsnet of costs not held
28,737
PCNs in 2025/26across 3 cameras
67%
paid at the £35 discount2025/26
33%
of challenges upheld2025/26
This page reports data released by West Northamptonshire Council under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI-26-009041 & FOI-26-9042, responded 2026-07-24). Figures are the council's own. BusLaneCheck is independent and not affiliated with the council. The source documents are linked at the foot of this page. Compare every UK authority →
Bus lane PCNs issued per yearGross PCN income per year
Bus lane PCNs dipped from 34,620 in 2021/22 to about 16,000–20,000 a year while the borough ran only its two Drapery cameras, then jumped back to 28,737 in 2025/26 as the new Gold Street bus-only street came online — Gold Street alone issued 14,026 PCNs in its first full year. Gross income tells the same story, falling from £1.19m to about £0.57m before rising to £0.97m. Across five years the council issued 116,828 bus lane PCNs and took just over £4m gross. The single busiest camera over the period was Drapery South, with 53,101 tickets.
Which cameras issue the most fines
Camera-enforced bus lane locations ranked by PCNs issued in 2025/26. The last column is the 5-year total.
The council enforces two cameras on the Drapery bus-only street (labelled North and South in its data) and one on Gold Street; its live "pay or appeal" page lists Drapery and Gold Street as single locations, so the per-camera splits here use the council's own labels. A now-retired camera on the Weedon Road / St James' Road bus lane issued 12,384 PCNs in 2021/22 before being decommissioned and is shown separately below. Three further cameras — Duston Road and Harlestone Road (Northampton) and Lodge Road (Daventry) — went live in July 2026, after this data period, and so issue no PCNs in the figures above. A separate “Weedon Road / St James' Road, Northampton” camera issued 12,384 PCNs in 2021/22 and does not appear in later years.
Challenges & appeals — do they work?
Formal representations to the council, and appeals to the independent Traffic Penalty Tribunal. Drivers made 17,874 formal challenges over 5 years.
Year
Challenges
Upheld
Rejected
Success rate
To tribunal
2021/22
5,416
1,879
2,788
35%
221 (159 allowed / 70 dismissed)
2022/23
2,143
1,116
1,155
52%
64 (50 allowed / 14 dismissed)
2023/24
2,681
866
1,258
32%
96 (46 allowed / 45 dismissed)
2024/25
3,233
1,000
1,128
31%
37 (12 allowed / 20 dismissed)
2025/26
4,401
1,431
1,894
33%
109 (32 allowed / 72 dismissed)
The council's own figures show the share of challenges upheld went from 35% in 2021/22 to 33% in 2025/26 — so a well-grounded challenge is worth making. See our guide to appealing a bus lane PCN for the grounds that win.
The fine itself
A bus lane PCN from West Northamptonshire Council is £70, reduced to £35 if paid within 21 days. It is a civil penalty — there are no licence points. West Northamptonshire's own "pay or appeal" page publishes only the discounted figure; the £70 charge (halved to £35 if paid within 21 days) is the statutory default for bus lane PCNs outside London. The council did not restate the amount in its FOI response.
What the council does not hold or publish
Permitted-vehicle list. For the locations request (FOI-26-9042) the council applied a Section 21 exemption — information reasonably accessible by other means — and pointed to its website rather than listing the vehicles permitted at each site. In practice these are bus-only restrictions.
Net income. Income is reported gross; the council did not provide figures net of camera operating and back-office costs.
The bus lanes behind these cameras
Each of these locations has a full page with operating hours, permitted vehicles and the governing traffic order: