Councillors vote to preserve parking perk once again
Change to remove subsidised parking for councillors would save council money and encourage public transport use, say Greens
Proposals to end a car parking pass perk for councillors have been rejected again
at a meeting of Full Council today.
Greens had called on the council to abolish free parking for councillors
in Norton Road and the Lanes as part of the budget in February 2019, a
move that was estimated to release £38k back into the council’s budget.
The Green budget proposals had been supported
at the time by Labour Councillors. [1]
However, a more recent request from Greens that a subsidy for councillor
car parking be removed was voted down by Labour and Conservative
Councillors during a meeting of Policy, Resources and Growth and Full
Council today.
It was instead recommended that councillors receive a subsidy for car
parking passes, with members making a small contribution towards the car
park pass.
Green Councillor Steve Davis, who called on Full Council to remove the car park pass, commented:
“It’s unfortunate that we couldn’t come together and agree on something
that would have been of benefit to the environment and to our local
community, who will be dismayed to learn these outdated perks for
councillors have been retained.
“We know that many councillors may choose to drive to meetings – all we ask is that they pay their way, like members of the public are expected to do. Councillors do have the option to take the bus and we were hoping to set processes in place that encourage the uptake of more sustainable forms of transport. It’s a shame that councillors from both the Labour and Conservative group have voted instead to preserve parking perks.”
–ENDS
Notes for Editors
[1] Brighton and Hove Greens budget proposals 2019-20: https://www.brightonhovegreens.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/02/Green-proposals-for-the-Brighton-and-Hove-Budget-2019-2020-6.pdf
[2] Further comment on this is available here: https://www.brightonhovegreens.org/2019/07/18/councillor-car-parking-brighton/
[3] Request that councillors give up free parking first proposed in Feb 2018: https://www.brightonhovegreens.org/2018/02/21/councillors-should-give-up-parking-perks-to-plug-cut-in-home-to-school-transport-say-greens/