A Brighton plumber has started a petition pleading for half-price parking permits for traders.
Felix Elkin, of Yardley Street, Brighton, set up the petition on the Brighton and Hove City Council website.
Mr Elkin, of Pipeworks Plus, said that he paid £700 for a trader’s permit, which is valid from 9am to 5pm, as well as £130 for a resident’s permit to park near his home.
He said: “If I’m in another zone working, I have my trader’s permit until 5pm, then I have to move on to pay and display.
“It’s a blanket rule to say traders work from 9am to 5pm. I’m a gas engineer. I can’t leave gas lines open. I do the job needed, otherwise it wouldn’t be good business practice.”
Mr Elkin wants the price of permits to be set at half their current rate, with traders paying £350 and residents £65.
Mr Elkin said: “Everyone moans about these things but no one does anything about it. It is good to register your disquiet.”
The petition currently has 75 signatures and is on the council website at present.brighton-hove.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?ID=618&RPID=26415362&HPID=26415362
It is due to be presented to the council’s Policy, Resources and Growth Committee at Hove Town Hall next Thursday (14 February). The meeting, which starts at 4pm, is open to the public.
£700 is a lot, with a residents permit as well, it implies he isn’t going to be abusing the system, unless working in his own zone where he lives. By all means, monitor the use. But £700 is just a huge tax. This gets passed on to the customer in part.
Do they expect builders to arrive by bicycle? How about making deliveries to the hospital with bicycles? Carrying heavy loads.
Disgusting treatment of local tradesmen and women. These people haven’t got the option of using public transport due to the tools, equipment and materials they have to carry. They shouldn’t have to pay a penny to park IMO.
Not sure if a Traders Permit is a bad deal or not = £13.46 per week. I too pay for a residents parking permit for a specific zone in Brighton. I have to pay additional parking costs when visiting friends and family who reside in different zones (including central Brighton zones) with stays limited from 2 to 4 hours or use public transport (£4.50 return) per visit. Whilst I am sometimes able to use a visitors permit these are limited and still incurrp a cost to either my host or myself. In addition I also incur parking cost/fares if shopping, visiting seafront, attending appointments etc. If a Traders Permit allows parking in these circumstances in the various zones around Brighton seems to be good value.
Problem is Julie, it is not. I pay £875 for one van, £700 for another and residential permit for my cat at £160 annually.
Fair enough I pay this. We all have to pay. However the real jinx is the time limit. You have to move your van by 5pm to a pay and display only. If your carrying out a late afternoon/evening all out you have to stay past the allotted time, this results in tickets by the council which couldn’t give a sh*t whether your on a call out or not. Try finding the allocated parking space after 5 whilst carrying out a technical call out and ask whether it’s a good deal paying that money or not.