Free Sunday parking in Brighton and Hove moves a step closer

Plans for free Sunday parking in Brighton and Hove took a step forward yesterday (Thursday 27 March).

Local Liberal Democrats persuaded more than 1,250 people to sign a petition backing the proposal.

This triggered a debate about waiving charges for on-street and off-street parking when Brighton and Hove City Council met at Hove Town Hall yesterday.

The Green administration, with support from Friends of the Earth and Brighton and Hove Buses, said that a “parking free-for-all” would lead to extra congestion.

But the petition won the backing of opposition Conservative and Labour councillors.

As a result council officials have been asked to go away and draw up detailed plans on how scrapping parking charges on Sundays would work.

Speaking to Latest after the meeting, Jeremy Gale, who started the petition and will stand for the Lib Dems in Central Hove at the next local elections, said: “It’s as good as we could have hoped for at this stage.

Councillor Ian Davey

“To be honest I didn’t imagine the levels of hostility towards the council on this issue. All those hours out in the rain were really worth it.

“This is about those 1,280 who signed the petition. It has obviously touched a nerve.

“I think common sense has prevailed and, despite having no representation either on the council or as a city MP, it shows we are able to shape policy.”

Conservative councillor Graham Cox said that he supported the move and praised the Lib Dem members for bringing the petition forward.

But Green councillor Ian Davey said: “Brighton and Hove is one of the busiest destinations in the UK with latest estimates putting the number of visitors at ten million a year and rising.

“You only have to look at the seafront at any time of year to see that Sunday is often the busiest day (of the week).

“The impact of this on the road network is often clear for everyone to see. There are barely any spaces left in car parks.”

He added that it would lead to increased congestion, damage the city’s bus service and lead to higher levels of air pollution.

Councillor Davey went on to say that a similar move in Aberystwyth, in Wales, had led to “chaos”.

The proposal comes just weeks after the council announced a range of measures aimed at helping drivers.

This included lowering charges at weekends in the London Road car park, reducing tariffs in the Regency Square car park and allowing hotel guests to use Norton Road car park in Hove.

Councillor Davey said: “We need to balance the needs of residents and visitors.

“A parking free-for-all would put residents at a disadvantage as it would mean they would have to join the search to find somewhere to park at weekends.”

A proposal to ask officials to draw up more detailed plans was passed by 29 votes to 21.

A decision on whether to scrap Sunday parking charges will be taken at a meeting of the council’s Policy and Resources Committee in May.