Fife veto on car park tax, but it won’t tell others to follow suit

The co-leaders of Fife Council have rejected a call to urge other local authorities not to support the controversial workplace parking tax.
Pic: John DevlinPic: John Devlin
Pic: John Devlin

They said it  wasn’t their place to tell them what to do.

The Workplace Parking Levy (WPL) was offered to councils in the Scottish Government’s most recent budget, but it sparked a huge backlash.

At a full Council meeting, Conservative Councillor Dave Dempsey proposed a motion inviting co-leaders, David Ross and David Alexander, “to rule out introducing the car park tax in future years” and asked them to raise the issue with their counterparts across Scotland.

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Councillor Dempsey said: “This isn’t just a matter for Fife. The number of work journeys originating here is about 90,000. That illustrates Fife is a diverse and geographically large area, but 70,000 of them terminated in Fife – they would be exempt.

“But the rest, are Fifers who would be impacted if other councils adopt this levy.”

Councillor Tony Miklinski backed the motion, saying the charge “would hit the lowest paid the hardest.”

Cllr Ross moved an amendment which noted the council’s stance “can only be guaranteed until the next local elections.”

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It also declined to urge other local authorities to follow suit, arguing: ” This isn’t a Scottish Government tax. It’s power for local authorities if they think it is appropriate.”

In a vote, the amendment was passed 44 to 12.