Prune Permit Prices Say Greens

24th March 2009

Sheffield's Green Party Councillors are campaigning for a 50% price cut for residents parking permits, pending the results of a review into the financing of the schemes. They believe the high prices (£36 for a first permit £72 for a second) unfairly discriminate against residents living near the city centre, who are often the least able to pay extra charges.

The Sheffield Star recently revealed that Permit Parking Zones (PPZs) make hundreds of thousands of pounds of profit, and that permit holders pay high prices compared to similar schemes across the country.

Cllr Bernard Little commented, 'Parking Permit Zones are popular with local residents, but it is unfair to expect that residents and businesses in these areas should subsidise lower council tax bills for the rest of the city.'

He added 'Our recent budget proposal called for a 50% cut in permit prices pending the results of a review, but this was rejected by the Liberal Democrat administration. Current schemes make more than enough to fund this price cut, and it's disappointing that our plan was rejected, but we will continue our fight for a fair deal for local people'

ENDS