Cash-strapped council could charge staff to park
Richard Evans, local democracy reporter
A local authority could start charging its own staff to park at council buildings in a bid to raise funds.
Conwy council is in the process of moving out of its Bodlondeb HQ in Conwy to its £58m flagship Coed Pella building in Colwyn Bay.
Cash-strapped Conwy County Council is redeploying staff to Coed Pella after agreeing to hand over Bodlondeb to Idea Forums.
Bodlondeb will then be used as a business centre by the Cardiff-based enterprise on a long-term lease.
Parking charges
But Bodlondeb-based staff and those already based at Coed Pella – who all currently park for free – could face car parking charges in the future.
The plans are outlined in Conwy’s replacement Local Development Plan, in a section stating the council’s stance on being a carbon-neutral authority amidst a climate emergency.
The report states in ‘Action 7.4’, highlighted in bold, ‘Discourage private vehicle use – We will consider a range of options to discourage private vehicle use, from a workplace charging levy to congestion charging’.
‘Workplace’
Whilst the word ‘workplace’ insinuates the authority is considering charging its staff, it’s not specified whether councillors or members of the public would also have to pay to park.
Earlier this month, at a democratic services committee meeting, Cllr Paul Luckock described the parking situation as potentially ‘uncomfortable’ whilst doubting the public would view councillors having to walk from on-street parking spaces to Coed Pella as a problem.
Cllr Chris Brockley meanwhile suggested on-street parking times might be tweaked on surrounding roads to allow councillors to attend long meetings without getting a parking ticket.
A spokeswoman for Conwy County Council said: “If councillors agree the move to one office (Coed Pella) and grant the lease for Bodlondeb, one of the next tasks will be to look at parking arrangements at the Coed Pella office.
“Introducing parking charges is an option that’s been discussed a number of times over recent years as part of a package of measures to reduce carbon emissions from staff commuting by encouraging car sharing, public transport use, and walking/cycling. Of course, any changes would require further engagement with staff and Trade Unions.”
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Will council staff who don’t work 9-5 so cannot use public transport to do their work be exempt?
I endured this unreasonable problem for many years as a hospital employee in the NHS. That said in urban areas where public transport is adequate and parking is at a premium there might be a weak argument in favour. I wasn’t guaranteed a space and in addition to paying for a pass I usually spent £3:50 a day in the pay and display like a lot of other staff including cleaners and secretaries on low pay rates. The intrinsic bullying attitude of the managers who had their appointed luxury spaces was obscene and did nothing for morale.
Ridiculous idea.
“Paying Mill owner for right to work” next!