Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Council accused of car park fee fiddle
TRANSPORT chiefs have denied claims the council cut fees at a city car park earlier this year because it was being used by its employees.
Parking charges at Dudhope Castle car park were reduced by more than 50% from £4.40 to £2 a day in this year’s budget.
Council transport officer John Berry said the number of cars using Dudhope Castle had “mushroomed” since the price cut but claimed: “It’s hard to know where all these cars are coming from.”
However, Sheena Wellington, secretary of the City Centre and Harbour Community Council, pointed out that several council departments had been relocated to Dudhope Castle in the last year.
Hundreds of staff left Dundee House for Dudhope Castle to allow the newly created Social Security Scotland agency to move in to the North Lindsay Street offices.
Discussing the issue at a community meeting, she asked Mr Berry: “You said you cut the parking at Dudhope Castle – is that anything to do with the fact you moved staff there?”
Mr Berry said: “No. This decision was probably taken about this time last year in the budget-setting process before I was involved.
“Before , Dudhope Castle would be 90% empty. By reducing (the price) to £2 we’ve had a surge in cars using it and bringing in more revenue.
“It could be police staff at Bell Street. It had nothing to do with Dudhope Castle. That would not influence our decision on parking.”
Ms Wellington replied: “I would hope not.”
Dudhope Castle was the only car park to have its charge reduced in this year’s budget agreement.
However, other car parks across the city such as the Gellatly Street and Greenmarket multi-storeys and off-street facilities saw increases of between 5-9%.
This was despite Mr Berry’s own admission earlier in the meeting that around half of spaces at city multistoreys are vacant each day.
On-street fees were also hiked by up to 10%, while residential permits were increased by up to 15%.
Asked to clarify Mr Berry’s remarks, a Dundee City Council spokesman said: “The Dudhope Castle car park was not attracting motorists at its previous prices, so a decision was taken to introduce the £2 charge on a trial basis. This has led to the car park becoming a well-used facility and we are monitoring motorist numbers on an ongoing basis.”