ONE box junction has generated £1million in revenue for Waltham Forest council in three years, it has emerged.

More than 17,000 Penalty Charge Notices (PCN) were issued for stopping inside the box at the junction between Forest Road and Kingsley Road in Walthamstow, between April 2011 and May 2014.

A Freedom of Information disclosure reveals that in 2013, the council received £500,000 in fines for this junction alone.

Between April to December 2011 the camera issued 4,263 PCNs, generating £285,640 for the council.

In 2012, a total of 2,577 PCNs were issued for offences at the site.

However, last year the number of people getting caught out rocketed, with 8,650 PCNs being issued.

Up to June this year, 1,618 PCNs were issued, generating £77,443.

The box junction stands where a keep clear sign used to be.

When asked when and why this was changed, the council said that it did not hold that information.

When questioned again for documents and meeting minutes relating to the junction, the council again stated the information was unavailable, but added that it was likely the sign was ignored.

In an earlier disclosure on the same box junction, the reason given was the prevention of congestion.

“The yellow box was implemented due to the frequent backing up of traffic from the junction of Forest Road with Fulbourne Road, thus preventing drivers from entering and exiting Kingsley Road,” senior traffic team engineer Iain King said.

“We can confirm that a ‘keep clear’ marking was previously in place at this junction. It is likely that this marking was often ignored preventing access as it is only an advisory marking."

When asked whether or not the box junction was requested by emergency services or residents, the council said this information was not held.

The response also revealed the council had expected to catch more people this year, but the camera was broken.

The discloure said: “In 2014 there was a major road accident where an out of control vehicle smashed into the column where the CCTV camera is positioned rendering the camera inoperable for over six weeks.”

The request included a question on how much the box junction had generated in revenue in total in 2013,  to which the council responded:"‘PCN Revenue received in 2013 was £7,592,204." 

The authority has been asked to clarify why this contradicts the previous answer.