A six-year plan to make changes to parking prices and strategies more sustainable has secured backing from council cabinet members. In the short term, Brighton and Hove City Council’s focus is a forecast deficit of £1 million in parking revenue from its projected £45.5 million income.
It aims to tackle this in part by reducing fees in some council-owned car parks where demand has dropped. A report to the council’s cabinet meeting proposed changing tariffs. It said that visitor numbers had risen to 11 million a year but parking income had not increased to match.
Opposition councillors and campaigners criticised the council for releasing details of the lower prices two days before the meeting Read the new prices HERE Brighton Active Travel said that it was disappointed to see the changes announced before the cabinet had made its decision. The campaign group said: “We know a resident who’d submitted a question for cabinet. They’re wondering if they should bother.
“We too are disappointed but when democracy and transparency get binned it’s not surprising that the public has no confidence in its elected representatives.” Green opposition leader Steve Davis,who used to chair the now-defunct Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee, said that the situation was “anti-democratic”. He said: “I’ve seen people from Bricycles and other outside pressure groups bemoaning the fact they write questions to come to committee when decisions are clearly alread.