‘What happened is a huge breach of trust’

by Alex Woodman

When I was elected as a councillor for Cabot ward in 2007, it was clear that the number one issue facing the residents of Kingsdown was chronic commuter parking. To address this, I campaigned fervently in favour of a residents’ parking zone (RPZ) for the area, but only on the condition that any scheme must have the support of residents.  Since being introduced in 2011, the zone has dramatically improved the situation, helping residents to park near their homes, but also improving the general environment and quality of life.  The feedback from residents has been positive, because we started from the principle that the scheme should have their support and be designed with their views in mind.

One thing made clear by residents was that permit fees should not be too high, and that permit income should only be used to cover the cost of introducing and running the zone.  Past attempts by the Council to introduce an RPZ in Kingsdown had failed partly because the permit fees were seen as an unfair tax on residents.  During the course of designing the scheme, the permit price initially proposed was reduced based on residents’ feedback.  In addition, a commitment was made to use open-book accounting so that it could clearly be shown that permit income would only be used by the Council for the purposes of installing and running the RPZ.

Despite this, at the Council’s debate on the Mayor’s budget last month, the Labour party proposed an amendment which would effectively re-mortgage the RPZ – at greater cost to those residents who live in the zone – and use the money raised to fund general Council expenditure.  Labour, Conservative and some Green Party councillors supported this amendment and it was therefore approved.  This will drive up RPZ permit costs despite the fact the scheme is in profit and on course to pay for itself in a few years’ time.  The Labour Party make a big fuss about how they want to keep the cost of living down, but despite their warm words, they have cynically chosen to push through higher RPZ permit charges on top of a Council Tax increase which could also have been avoided. They have all got their priorities wrong.

What happened last month is a huge breach of trust with the people of Bristol, who had been promised by all parties and the Mayor that the RPZ would not be used as a cash-cow by the Council.  I have therefore proposed a motion at Full Council to take the profit out of parking.  It calls on the mayor to reduce the cost of all RPZ permits to the amount required only to administer the scheme. I see no reason why that cannot be achieved.

My motion is about fairness. It was wrong for Labour, Tory and some Green Party councillors to needlessly push through a parking tax at a time when many residents are struggling to make ends meet. The Liberal Democrats are opposed to increasing RPZ permit fees when the Council has the resources to reduce them. We want to help residents keep more of the money they earn in their back pocket instead of charging stealth taxes for nothing more in return. 

The question also to be asked is where does it stop?  When RPZ permits were first introduced they were set at £30 for the first permit and £80 for a second.  The Mayor has already increased this to £48 and £96 respectively. That increase had nothing to do with the costs of introducing and running RPZ scheme.  The Labour budget amendment is the final nail in the coffin of the principle that permit fees should not be an additional tax on residents.  It sets a precedent which will allow the Mayor to use permit income in any way he pleases.  How long will it be before this leads to permit costs rising even further?

Residents’ parking zones can be a very welcome solution which alleviates the problems of chronic commuter parking in inner city areas. However, the charging regime has to be fair and equitable. The charges the Mayor has introduced and that have been rubber stamped by Labour, Tory and Green Party councillors are far from that. Their unnecessary increased permit costs should not be the way forward for Bristol.  It is time for the Council to think again.