Last week, the Labour Leader of Brighton and Hove City Council announced a review into parking charges across the city. She said that the review would take “into account income projections for the year ahead” and that the Council would work to “balance the council’s budget”. So far this sounds similar to the language used by Wokingham Borough’s Liberal Democrats when they were defending their decision to double parking charges here. But here’s the twist: in Brighton they’re not looking to increasing parking charges. Instead, they are scrapping planned increases and looking to reduce the cost of parking.
Steep increases imposed by the previous Green Party administration in parking charges, intended to encourage people out of their cars, have instead caused Brighton Council to lose valuable income from car parks and has endangered the Council’s finances.
And so, Brighton is now looking to reduce the cost of parking to encourage people into the city and increase revenue.
What has happened in Brighton is what the Conservatives have been warning could happen in Wokingham.
In Wokingham Borough, the cost of parking doubled last month. Charging hours have been extended to evenings, weekends and early mornings, where previously it was free. It is now cheaper to park for over 2 hours in the Princess Square car park in Bracknell.
As in Brighton, our Council’s budget will be squeezed if revenue from parking charges falls, creating a false economy. What makes the Lib Dems’ decision even more bizarre is that revenue from council car parks can only be spent within the Highways and Transport areas, as set out in the Road Traffic Regulation Act – it can’t be used for other purposes such as on Children’s Services or Adult Social Care. Yet, despite this significant increase in parking charges, the Lib Dems have budgeted for no increase in the Highways Maintenance budget.
One reason given for the steep increase at a Council Committee meeting in October by the Liberal Democrat Executive Member, Cllr Paul Fishwick, was to discourage residents from making “inappropriate journeys”.
Putting aside the arrogance of councillors who think they have the right to dictate to people how they travel, it’s simply not fair for politicians to curtail car journeys by making them unaffordable. Policies like these are exclusionary.
It will hit hardest low paid workers and people for who their car is a necessity not a luxury, especially people less able to walk or cycle and people who live in more rural villages. They will stretch hard-pressed household budgets and could lead to an increase in loneliness and isolation.
The Lib Dems have made a political choice to punish car users, without a consideration for the unintended consequences. Fewer people parking in town centres will mean fewer people popping into local shops and other businesses like gyms, hairdressers, and cafes. If high street shops close as a result of falling footfall the Council will lose valuable rental income on the premises it owns. Jobs could be lost, in turn affecting families and putting greater pressure on Council services.
More than 4,000 residents signed a petition opposing the Lib Dem increase in parking charges. Sadly, as in Brighton under the Greens, Lib Dem-led Wokingham Borough Council is obsessively pressing ahead – in the process leaving our town centres hollowed out and with fewer local jobs.
