News: The Vote
A school governor has spoken out on behalf of low-paid staff who will be affected by an extended residents parking scheme. Frank le Duc reports
A series of changes to parking rules in Brighton were agreed by councillors last week. The most controversial changes affect people living just north of London Road Station and in the Roundhill area. The two schools in the area were among the most vociferous in speaking out about the effects of the changes on parents and low-paid staff.
Martin Cross, the chairman of the governors at Downs Junior School, spoke on behalf of his own school and his colleagues at Downs Infant School. He addressed the Brighton and Hove City Council Transport Committee meeting at Hove Town Hall where the changes were agreed. The schools sit on either side of Ditchling Road and both accept the extension of the “Area J Residents Parking Scheme” in principle.
Mr Cross said that the schools “recognise the difficulties that some local residents have in being able to park close to their home”. He said: “We also believe that any decision should take account of those who attend the schools either as a child, a parent or a member of staff and …that the final proposals should be a balance between the needs of all groups, not an imposition of the views of one group over another.”
He suggested a number of compromises, saying: “We believe that the legitimate wishes of the residents can be met without having a negative impact on the functioning of the schools and a negative financial impact on the staff.
“The schools both have active travel plans and seek to minimise the use of cars for travel to school. Indeed the great majority of children walk to both schools. We will continue to encourage walking to school or using public transport but there are some families for whom using a car is unavoidable.”
“For staff who have to pay to park, it will mean an annual cost of £1,000”
The compromises that he requested included starting the parking restrictions from 9.15am during term time to allow parents to deliver children safely to the playground and speak to staff if required, without fear of a parking ticket. He also asked for 15 minutes of free parking to enable parents to collect children after school and from after-school clubs, particularly during dark winter evenings.
Mr Cross said: “Our major concern relates to the financial effect on the school and staff. School budgets are very tight and under increasing pressure, so any permits bought would inevitably have a negative effect on funds being available for educational purposes. For staff who have to pay to park, it will mean an annual cost of £1,000.” He said that residents would pay a lot less for their permits.
He added: “This would be an appalling cost for the authority to impose on its own staff, particularly at a time when salaries have not risen for several years and pay restraint is likely to continue into the future. Some staff, for example, teaching assistants, are not highly paid, and they would particularly suffer. Recruitment to the schools could also be damaged as a result.
“We would ask that, provided that the schools have an active travel plan, approved by the authority, staff at the schools can be provided with free permits to use during term time only up to 5pm. This will still ensure that residents can park successfully when they return home.
“If the committee vote for the scheme unamended they will be sending a clear message to staff that the authority is prepared to wilfully impose significant financial burdens on them when there is no justification whatsoever in relation to addressing the parking concerns.”
The Transport Committee chairman, Councillor Ian Davey, said that school permits were available but restricted to one for every six members of staff. He said: “This has worked well for all schools in controlled zones across the city and to encourage sustainable transport choices. It is also critical that we adopt a fair and consistent citywide approach to school permits and for this reason we must apply the same ratio at Downs School.
“We have previously also issued up to two business permits to a small number of schools in addition to their allocation of school permits… Free permits would not support efforts to encourage sustainable transport choices.” He promised 11 more shared pay and display bays but ruled out free parking periods, saying that it would be “extremely expensive to enforce”.n
