Council leader denies enforcing car park charges in non-Labour wards only

The council leader has been accused of instructing officers to only impose parking charges in areas that don't vote Labour

Warrington Borough Council’s leader has emphatically denied instructing officers to only impose car parking charges in ‘non-Labour voting wards’.

Cllr Hans Mundry, Labour, clashed with Cllr Graham Gowland, Liberal Democrat, on the issue at the full council meeting on Monday.

Cllr Gowland put forward a question to Cllr Mundry.

He asked: “In 2013, the council’s own parking policy set out that charging was to be introduced in all council car parks.

“Could you explain why charging was not introduced in Latchford and Culcheth, areas with similar levels of household income, on-street parking and competing car parks, to those in Lymm and Stockton Heath?”

Council leader Cllr Mundry highlighted there are a number of car parks in the town – including in the town centre, Birchwood, Warrington West railway station, Stockton Heath and Lymm – where charges do apply.

But he said the car parks where charges are not applied – including those referred to in the question, in Latchford and Culcheth – have ‘plentiful’ on-street parking available around them, which has meant charges have not been introduced.

Furthermore, he stated where charges are applied, these are used to cover the cost of the operation and ongoing maintenance of the car parks, which improve an ‘important community asset for the whole of Warrington’.

Cllr Gowland sought ‘clarification’ of where the on-street parking is in Latchford and said he ‘never seems to find it’.

He said when he has requested the meeting minutes for when the decisions were made, they have ‘not been forthcoming’, and asked for them to be arranged to be sent to him.

“What I have been told by officers is that, in terms of the district car parks, they’ve been instructed by yourself that they can only charge in non-Labour voting wards,” he added.

“As I say, that comes from the officers – could you please explain why that’s been decided.”

Cllr Mundry highlighted there was cross-party representation at the meetings that took place when the decisions were made.

In relation to the claim over the ‘instruction’ to officers, Cllr Mundry asked where the information came from as it has ‘certainly not come from me’.

“I certainly have not said it to our officers, that has not come from me,” he added.

“I really want to know, and I’m asking our officers, I need to find out exactly what’s going on.

He also said he is ‘really shocked that our officers, who can’t answer for themselves’ were brought into the issue at the full council meeting, adding he thinks it is ‘really bad manners to actually use officers in such a way’.