The Brighton and Hove Labour Party has pledged to cut the cost of parking if it wins power at the local elections in May.
The cheaper parking policy is aimed at small and medium-sized businesses and was announced during the visit of a shadow minister yesterday (Thursday 8 January).
Businesses that invest in low-emission vehicles or take on apprentices will be given a discount on their trader parking permits.
The party also promised to make dealing with the council easier by providing a dedicated team to help firms and their staff.
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Chris Leslie said: “You shouldn’t have to have a PhD in how the council works to find the right person. I will certainly take this idea to other parts of the country.
“Parking comes up time and time again across the country.
“Council finances are under great pressure but there are deals to be made with local leaders about what we do.
“You cut off your nose if you make it too hard for people coming into town.
“Parking is not the silver bullet but this policy is practical not ideological and it will help.”
Councillor Warren Morgan, leader of the opposition Labour group on Brighton and Hove City Council, said: “We want to help local small and medium-sized businesses succeed. They are the lifeblood of our local economy and vital to the city’s prosperity.
“We listened to local businesses at an event last summer when they said that their time was precious and dealing with council bureaucracy was costly.
“We are now pledging to increase the support local businesses can get from the council by providing a dedicated team to help them get their transactions with the council completed swiftly.
“We know small businesses and traders find the cost of parking in the city a big problem so we are saying that if businesses invest in low-emission vehicles, we will give them a discount on their trader parking permits.
“This will also be a positive step to tackle air pollution in the city centre, something the Greens have clearly failed to do.
“To help young people get a good start to their careers and tackle local youth unemployment, we want to make a similar offer to any small business that takes on additional apprentices.”
Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Hove Peter Kyle said: “Let’s get Hove and Portslade open for business again. Entrepreneurs are the driving force of our local economy and I want to help them succeed.
“I set up a small business in the city myself so I understand the challenges and barriers to growth as well as how it is our entrepreneurial spirit which will help create more jobs and provide the apprenticeships we need.”
During Mr Leslie’s visit, Mr Kyle introduced the shadow minister to local apprentice electrician Paul Schafer, based at the Werks, a hub in Church Road, Hove, for start-ups and small businesses.
They also spoke to Ian Elwick, the director who runs the Werks and four similar business incubation units in the area, including the Brighton Media Centre.
So if they are struggling with parking charges surely the cost of investing in low emission vehicles would be an even bigger struggle.
Wow! Labour actually come up with a good idea and then proceed to make a complete mess of it.
Giving a discount for parking for low emission vehicles is an encouragement to improve the local air quality. Something the Greens have not done, er…except introduce a low emissions zone this year, encourage cycling and walking and supported initiatives to introduce hybrid buses to the city. Measures that will see a steady improvement in air quality over the years.
Unfortunately, linking parking to apprenticeships seems to be going in the other direction and getting £100-200 off a permit is not going to make a hill of beans difference to taking on an apprentice and does not encourage low emission vehicles.
Not if they’re also struggling with lung cancer looool
You know, I thought I smelt a rat, so I checked out the B&H business and trader parking permits and what did I find? Permits are already half price for low emission vehicles. In other words, the Green led council is already doing what Labour is proposing. So, I take my faint praise back.
This is yet another example of why people cannot trust Labour, the party that has forced the poorest 16000 households to increase their contributions to council tax.