Councillors and town hall staff have been parking for free across Tameside since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been revealed.

A newly published report states that following the first coronavirus lockdown in the UK, in April 2020 Tameside council suspended charges for parking passes for its staff, its partner organisation – then called the Clinical Commissioning Group – Tameside College and elected members.

As a result of a move to hybrid or home working during lockdowns, the authority had decided to change its policy from a paid-for pass to instead provide new and existing passes ‘free of charge upon request’.

This included 40 parking passes which were issued to elected councillors, and 85 passes for Tameside College staff.

A charging system was reintroduced at the beginning of October, after more than two years in which staff and councillors could park for free in all council-owned car parks in Hyde, Denton, Droylsden, Mossley, Stalybridge and Dukinfield, and ‘outer zone’ car parks in Ashton-under-Lyne.

At the start of 2019 there were around 300 staff paying for parking passes, which generated an income of £52,970 for the town hall.

These permits were then renewed for free for a year. When that time expired, 127 people working within different departments within the authority, including the library, children’s services, market officers, legal, health and safety officers and ‘others’ confirmed they still needed a pass.

Since October 2021 parking passes were issued freely on a monthly basis to staff and elected members, with 85 using a five day multi parking pass, 38 on a single named car park pass, four using selected day passes and 40 ‘elected member passes’ issued to councillors.

In a council decision document which was published on its website following requests from the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the authority stated it was proposing to reinstate staff parking from October 1, 2022. 

However this would be at a rate significantly less than it was in 2019, when staff paid £225 a year for parking passes, due to ‘economic pressures’ and changes to working patterns.

The new arrangements would see staff and councillors pay £10 a month to park in outer zone Ashton car parks, as well as all others in the borough, with a total annual cost of £120.

Car parks not included in the pass are located at Henrietta Street, Ashton Baths, Old Cross Street, Mulberry Street, Church Street and Camp Street.

Staff who are contracted to work Saturday and Sundays have the option to apply for a seven day permit at the same charge of £10 per month.

The cost of the passes would be deducted from staff salaries on a monthly basis, with elected member passes coming out of councillors’ allowances.

“The monthly parking pass is an incentive and staff benefit in line with the new working arrangements and can be used for work and leisure throughout the day,” the authority report states.

“The new rate of £10 per month would be a significant saving for staff as most car parks including town centre car parks have charging rates at £2 per day.”

The new charging rates will be available for both staff from the Tameside NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care partnership – the former Clinical Commissioning Group – and Tameside College at an annual rate of £120.

A staff survey carried out by the council stated that its employees were ‘interested in purchasing a car parking pass’ with Ashton being the most favoured location to access the authority HQ at Tameside One.

Officers say it is expected that there will be a take-up of around 150 staff parking passes per year which would generate £18,000 annual income in 2022/23.

This is significantly lower than the £48,000 budget for staff parking permits, leaving a £30k shortfall for the authority. However the report states it is envisaged that additional staff will buy a pass ‘due to the flexibility and affordability of the new scheme’.

The new scheme is to be introduced for a period of 12 months, running until this coming October, during which time officers say a ‘more detailed review of staff parking requirements and charges will be undertaken’.

Speaking in February, Councillor Jan Jackson, the cabinet member for planning, transport and connectivity said: “We do recognise and accept that car parks are a revenue, they bring money back into the authority.”

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