Anger over £30k bill for councillors' free parking

A council which has recently increased and extended parking charges spends about £30,000 a year letting councillors park for free.

Liverpool City Council spends the money on permits for elected members for city centre car parks, a Freedom of Information request by the BBC revealed.

The news has been met with anger by musicians and other night-time workers who said the decision to extend charges to 23:00 BST had left them worse off.

Liverpool City Council said the permits could only be used for "council-related activities" and that the scheme was cheaper than handling individual parking expenses.

The changes, which came into effect in July, have seen the cost of parking rise from £2.40 to £4 an hour, and it is no longer free after 18:00.

Barry Dallan, a pianist who gigs in Liverpool, told the BBC musicians were now facing a significant dent in their income from performing in the city centre at night, with some having to spend up to £10 per gig or rehearsal.

Mr Dallan, 48, said a lot of musicians had "no choice but to drive".

He said: "We've got heavy equipment to move. You can't take it on public transport. It's not possible to transport a heavy drum kit or a double bass or heavy keyboard without using a car, so we have to use a car to get to work."

He said it was "massively frustrating" that councillors had made the decision to increase charges when they could park for free when they were in the city for their work.

He added: "It's massively frustrating. It's like there's one rule for them and a different rule for the rest of us."

A consultation on the changes was met with opposition by 90% of the 1,226 people who responded before the new charges came in in July.

In its masterplan for transport in Liverpool, the council said it wanted to improve public transport "into a future that prioritises people over cars".

Mr Dallan added: "It feels like they're not standing by what they're saying. They say they want to incentivise people to use public transport, they're not doing that for their own people."

The council expects to make about £240,000 from fines until people get used to the new restrictions.

Izabela Dzik, 38, who works at the Art School restaurant in Hope Street, said the night-time parking charges made her feel unsafe.

She said: "We used to be able to park around the restaurant, or a very short distance away, after six.

"At the moment we need to park a little bit outside, so for me it's a little bit scary and dangerous to walk, especially at night-time on a busy Friday or Saturday night."

Paul Askew, the owner of the Art School and the chairman of the Liverpool Hospitality Industry Association, described the end of free city centre parking as a major blow for the industry.

"They could not be making it any harder for the trade, when we are supposed to be growing this amazing place together."

The award-winning chef said he had no idea councillors could park for free in some car parks, and said that "it sticks in the gullet somewhat".

Singer and pianist Jade Dyas, 26, said she felt "betrayed".

"It's pretty insulting to musicians and hospitality workers that the councillors get to park for free because it doesn't affect them, they are not having to live with the reality of the consequences."

Just under half of council meetings held in July took place in the evening in the city centre.

Politicians' permits for the car park in Victoria Street work by number plate recognition, and the council told the BBC the scheme was not formally monitored.

It said instead the scheme worked on trust, and any complaints about potential use other than for council business were investigated.

A council spokesman said: "There have been instances where concerns were raised - such as use during weekends - and these were investigated.

"In those cases, the individuals were found to be working overtime."

The spokesman added that the scheme, open to all councillors from all parties, "helps reduce administrative overheads by removing the need to process individual parking claims from councillors, which would likely incur additional costs".

And he added a proposal to end the scheme to offset an increase in councillors' allowances had been suggested by the council but rejected by the independent panel that decides.

But a review of the scheme will take place later this year.

The council declined to comment on the impact of the changes on people working in the city's night-time economy.

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