Parking scheme costs £1.65 million to run

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal East Sussex County Council has to collect an estimated 1,650,000 in parking fees just to break even for the next financial year but has predicted it will be more than 140,000 in the red.

Lewes Chamber of Commerce has criticised the size of the operation and said spiralling costs will inevitably mean parking rate increases in the future because the council is not allowed to pay for the scheme through taxation.

In response the council defended NCP's record in Lewes and said the size of the parking operation was necessary for it to run effectively and reduce traffic in the town.

Kevin Scott, parking spokesman for Lewes Chamber of Commerce, was furious at some of the financial and contractual details revealed by the Freedom of Information Request, which shows 35 full-time workers (25 at NCP and ten at County Hall) are needed to carry out the Controlled Parking Zone scheme.

The FOI document also revealed the council was tied into a five-year contract with NCP to enforce penalties for the unpopular on-street parking charges at a cost of more than 800,000 this year.

Mr Scott said: 'It's unbelievable that a small town like Lewes is being hit for 1.6 million pounds.

'But it's hardly surprising considering the size of the parking operation.

'The council has to make this amount of money or the prices go up.

'It's a downward spiral and a Catch-22 situation, the council can't allow the scheme to be policed more leniently because they have to pay NCP and are tied into a five-year contract.'

In response to the criticisms a council spokesman said: 'We would strongly dispute that the cost of the Lewes controlled parking scheme is particularly high or higher than any other similar scheme around the country.

'In fact, NCP was chosen in a transparent tendering process ahead of any rival bid specifically because the firm proved it would provide the best value and the best quality enforcement scheme.

'You only have to compare the costs of our pay and display tickets and permits to those in other schemes to see that Lewes is getting value for money.'

The council said the scheme would be ineffective if it was cut back and would create more traffic in the town.

The spokesman said the financial outlook for the scheme had changed since the estimate was made for the Freedom of Information request, and the council now hoped to make a small surplus for this financial year, rather than the 145,339 deficit earlier predicted.