News from Westminster Labour

Westminster residents out in force over unfair motorbike parking charges

In the largest protest ever in Westminster, over 3,000 motorbike owners have sent emails, written letters and signed petitions protesting against Westminster City Council’s new £150 a year/£1.50p a day motorbike parking charges.

The parking charge, equivalent to a 22% Council Tax increase for Westminster residents, has provoked a massive protest across the political spectrum with motorbike owners of all political persuasions uniting to urge the Council to scrap the experimental charge when it is reviewed at the beginning of March. So far, the £300,000 cost of introducing extra motorbike parking places and security measures has been exceeded seven times over by the £2.2 million income received by the Council in parking fees and parking fines.

Labour Councillors say that the extra income from motorbike parking charges and fines is being used by Westminster City Council to plug the massive hole in its finances following the loss of £17 million in now-failed Icelandic Banks.

Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, Leader of the Labour Group, said;

“There has never been a bigger protest than this in Westminster. For the past month, every Westminster Councillor has been bombarded by emails from angry motorbike riders who believe that Westminster is using motorbike parking charges as a money-making exercise. With income from parking fees and fines running at seven times the expenditure on providing the extra parking spaces, there is now an unanswerable case for scrapping the motorbike parking charges.”

Other news from Westminster Labour

• Twelve questions for the next Leader of Westminster Council - 10 February 2012
• Westminster Council joint bottom of London league for Adult Social Care - 6 February 2012
• Westminster Labour calls for an 'outbreak of democracy' over election of new council Leader - 2 February 2012