More Councils in England Are Switching On ANPR Cameras That Fine Drivers £70

• Gloucestershire switched on its first ANPR moving traffic cameras on 1 June 2026, with 16 more locations planned across the county.
• Newcastle begins camera enforcement of a new No Entry restriction on 1 July 2026, adding to a yellow box junction already live from October 2025.
• Fines reach £70, but new sites give drivers a warning-only grace period for the first six months before penalties start.

The Rollout That Is Reaching a New Council Almost Every Month

Drive through a yellow box junction, make a banned turn or enter a restricted street the wrong way, and a growing list of councils outside London can now fine you for it automatically, without a police officer anywhere nearby. Moving traffic enforcement powers, once reserved almost entirely for the capital, have been rolling out across England on a staggered schedule from 2024, and 2026 has brought a fresh wave of councils switching cameras on for the first time. Gloucestershire, Newcastle, Manchester and Nottinghamshire have all activated new enforcement in the past nine months, with more sites confirmed before the year is out.

Gloucestershire County Council brought its first Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras online on 1 June 2026, targeting banned turns, driving through restricted streets and blocking yellow box junctions. The county has confirmed a further 16 locations will be added, giving it one of the largest single rollouts of any authority to date. The stated aims are the ones used across every council introducing the powers: cutting congestion, speeding up bus services and keeping junctions clear for emergency vehicles.

Where Enforcement Has Just Gone Live or Is About To

Newcastle has been enforcing a yellow box junction at Christon Road and Great North Road from October 2025 and will extend that to a No Entry restriction at the junction of Christon Road and Hyde Terrace from 1 July 2026. Manchester began enforcing box junction rules on 19 January 2026, and Nottinghamshire has confirmed moving traffic enforcement is beginning in the county after years of only London and a handful of authorities holding the power. Solihull and Sunderland have both published guidance preparing residents for enforcement locally, signalling more sites are close behind.

These councils are following an initial group designated by the Department for Transport under a 2024 order, which named Bath and North East Somerset, Bedford, Buckinghamshire, Derby, Durham, Hampshire, Kent, Luton, Norfolk, Oxfordshire, Reading and Surrey among the first authorities outside London permitted to enforce moving traffic contraventions using camera evidence. A second tranche brought the total number of designated areas to 22, and councils within that group have been switching individual camera sites on in stages over the past two years, rather than all at once.

What the Fine Actually Costs

A moving traffic penalty charge notice carries a maximum fine of £70, reduced to £35 if paid within the discount period set by the issuing council, typically 14 or 21 days. That is broadly in line with penalties for parking contraventions, but unlike a parking fine, a moving traffic offence is committed in seconds and often without the driver realising a restriction was in place until the letter arrives. Common contraventions include turning where a sign prohibits it, entering a box junction when the exit is not clear, driving the wrong way down a one-way restriction, and ignoring a bus gate that only permits buses, taxis and cyclists.

Every council introducing a new camera site is required to run a warning-only period for the first six months after it goes live. In that period, a first-time contravention at that specific location results in a warning letter rather than a fine, though the council can still issue a penalty for a repeat offence at the same site within the warning window. Once the six months ends, or for anyone reoffending within it, the full penalty applies from the first contravention.

How to Check Before You Get Caught Out

If you regularly drive through Gloucestershire, Newcastle, Manchester or Nottinghamshire, check your council’s website for a moving traffic enforcement page before your next trip through the town or city centre. Most publish exact camera locations and go-live dates ahead of enforcement starting, and several, including Gloucestershire and Newcastle, list the specific junctions affected along with a map. Roadside signage is required at every enforced location, but restrictions that have been in place for years without cameras can catch out drivers who have simply never been caught before.

If a penalty charge notice arrives and you believe it was issued in error, for example as you were forced into a box junction by traffic ahead of you or a sign was obscured, you can challenge it directly with the council first and escalate to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal if that appeal is rejected. The tribunal is free, independent of the council, and its adjudicators regularly overturn penalties where signage or road markings did not meet the required standard.

With more authorities confirmed to be adding sites through the rest of 2026, a junction that has never been enforced before could be live within weeks, and the warning period offers only a narrow window before the fines start. Checking your local council’s enforcement page directly remains the surest way to avoid an unexpected £70 penalty landing on your doormat.

Why This Power Existed in London Long Before Anywhere Else

London boroughs have enforced moving traffic contraventions with cameras for more than two decades, a power granted under separate legislation that never applied to the rest of England. Councils outside the capital spent years lobbying for the same authority, arguing that without it they had no practical way to enforce box junctions, banned turns or one-way systems beyond an occasional police patrol that could not realistically cover every junction. The 2024 designation order finally extended the power nationally, but only to councils that formally applied for it and could demonstrate a road safety or congestion case for specific locations, which is why the rollout has happened in waves by authority rather than all at once across the country.

Bradford is among the more recent councils to move, signing off 13 new ANPR cameras targeting yellow box junctions and banned turn points across the city. Every council introducing the powers has been required to justify the specific locations chosen, typically citing accident data, congestion surveys or complaints about persistent rule-breaking at that junction, rather than simply picking busy roads at random.

What Happens if You Ignore the Penalty Notice

A moving traffic penalty charge notice works on the same escalating structure as a parking fine. Pay within the discount period and the charge is typically halved. Ignore it, and the council can issue a formal reminder, followed by a charge certificate that increases the amount owed, and can then register the debt with the county court and pass it to bailiffs for collection if it remains unpaid. Unlike some moving traffic offences dealt with by police, such as speeding or running a red light, a civil penalty charge notice from a council does not carry penalty points on your licence, as it is a civil debt rather than a criminal offence. That distinction is relevant for anyone worried about their licence, but it does not make the fine any less enforceable if left unpaid. Whichever route it reaches, an unpaid penalty charge notice does not disappear on its own, and the amount owed only grows the longer it sits unaddressed.

Councils are required to publish how enforcement revenue is spent, and unlike general parking income, funds raised specifically from moving traffic enforcement are ring-fenced under the rules for reinvestment in local transport, road safety and environmental improvement schemes rather than general council spending. That does not change what an individual driver owes, but it is worth knowing if you want to check how your council reports on where the money collected from a new camera site actually goes.

Sources:

• Gloucestershire County Council: New traffic enforcement measures set to go live
• Newcastle City Council: Moving Traffic Enforcement
• House of Commons Library: Councils in England to get new powers over traffic offences