Putting the brakes on parking charge plan

Sir, – I read with interest the proposal by the Depute Provost and Angus councillor Colin Brown to charge teachers and other council staff to park at their place of work.

Perhaps he feels that because Ninewells Hospital charges staff to park, it is a sterling idea for Angus Council to do so too.

My wife is a nurse on shiftwork at Ninewells and pays £360 per annum for the privilege of parking there. Councillor Brown would like to remove a further £200 a year from my family’s pockets.

Hopefully he is aware that Angus struggles to recruit teachers in STEM subjects and that one of these subjects, engineering science, will soon be lost to the academy in his town due to a shortage of teachers in that discipline.

A young teacher entering the profession at the bottom of the pay scale might be tempted by a job offer at a Dundee school rather than an Angus one, given the financial penalty which councillor Brown would like to impose on its employees.

He should also be aware that not all council employees earn anywhere near the pay of a teacher at the top of the pay scale.

Some work part-time hours on a “living wage”; would they be expected to pay the same parking charge?

Maybe councillor Brown should think “outside the box” and encourage Angus Council to install electric vehicle charging points in its staff car parks, and offer its employees incentives to buy electric or hybrid cars through an employee lease hire scheme. The Scottish Government has ambitious climate change targets and Angus Council should be helping them achieve that.

As a footnote, I wonder what councillor Brown’s next suggestion might be to raise revenue; perhaps installing ticketing machines at Park Grove Crematorium. Gordon Dunn. McGill Road , Carnoustie.

A correspondent says Angus councillor Colin Brown should not be considering charging staff to park, as is the case at Ninewells Hospital.