New traffic and parking measures for Herefordshire are intended to raise £100,000 from drivers over the next two years.

Herefordshire Council’s head of transport Coun John Harrington has approved the plans as part of a £550,000 package to boost the council’s finances.

There will be £100,000 for a programme to bring in traffic cameras and other measures to spot driving offences across the county. They are expected to bring the council a net income of £59,000 over this financial year and the next.

Coun Harrington said: “Although we do desperately need revenue, these are being brought in because national law now allows councils to do the job the police have been failing to do.”

Such offences would likely include drivers ignoring weight restrictions, rat-running, and others that residents “regularly express their concerns over”, he said.

“Those who will get fined are breaking the law or contravening regulations, often repeatedly because there is no or minimal police enforcement.” And new signage will ensure “the unfamiliar are not unfairly impacted”.

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But Coun Jonathan Lester, leader of the opposition Conservatives, said that while supporting “measures that increase and promote road safety” his group are concerned that the enforcement cameras “may charge motorists for honest mistakes”.

“Given the traffic problems in the city, it would be unfair to profit from motorists who unwittingly find themselves ensnared in such a system,” Coun Lester said.

A business case for the plan must first be developed and approval then sought from the Government. The council has already taken on an outside consultant to assess how many offences the measures would detect.

A further £100,000 will go on plans to extend Hereford’s on-street pay-and-display parking areas, both in the areas covered and the rates charged.

This will be used to develop a business case, draft the legal measures, and potentially install new ticket machines. The council expects the plan to yield £41,000 over two years.

But the council insists the parking measures will be to “manage demand”, with income from the scheme “a consequence and not the purpose”.

Coun Harrington said extending parking zones “will prevent residential streets from being clogged with commuter parking”.