Parking Fines-Ignore the Tories and Send Your Parking Vouchers Back

12.00.00am GMT Fri 14th Mar 2003

"Cllr Kreling (Conservative) is making increasingly desperate attempts to justify his pointless and half-baked scheme for 30 minutes' free parking."

"Despite what Cllr Kreling implies the Council's Director of Finance has confirmed that if extra income for parking fines is applied to the Concessionary Fares scheme (the freedom pass) an equivalent amount would be released for spending on other priorities within the Council. "

"The cost of Cllr Kreling's scheme is £280,000 a year, made up of lost income, increased enforcement, printing and distribution costs. "

"We believe that residents would prefer to see this money applied towards reversing the proposed increase in day centre charges for the elderly. "

"We urge residents to send back their vouchers and ask for the value (£3.20 a book) to be credited to reduce day centre charges."

"The irony is that if the Tories had wanted to help motorists in the simplest way they could have raised £280,000 less in Council Tax. That would have reduced each Council Tax bill by £3.70. The vouchers are worth only £3.20 at the average parking place so 50p a book or something like £39,000 in all is being eaten up on printing, postage and bureaucracy."