In this episode:-
A listener asked us one simple question: is the council making money out of parking, and where does the money actually go? We uncover the policy from 2022 determined to get people out of their cars and the failed promise to deliver an Area Car Parking Strategy that supported delivery of that policy. And we also ask the question: is Calderdale Council breaking the law in how it spends that surplus?
The new Reform administration is promising a review.
The numbers
£2.93m - the council’s own parking operating surplus for 2024/25 (roughly double 2021/22, and up about half on pre-pandemic).
Over £1 million - separately, the amount the 2024/25 year-end accounts say was used to reduce an overspend in a completely different budget - the one that covers things like school transport for children with special needs, and waste. We keep this figure and the £2.93m strictly apart.
About £14 a head - Calderdale’s parking surplus per resident. Third of England’s 35 big-city (metropolitan) boroughs, behind only Newcastle and Manchester - and the highest in West Yorkshire.
Six towns, zero plans — Parking Area Plans were promised in 2022 as the evidence supporting the increase in car parking charge
Our previous episode:-
The Piece Hall, The Trust, The Council, and your money
I love the Piece Hall. Growing up I sold copies of the Halifax Evening Courier outside the Westgate entrance. I was there when the ‘Multi-Coloured Swop Shop’ turned up complete with Keith Chegwin and Maggie Philbin. And I’ve watched it transform from down-at-heel Saturday market to a unique and much-loved gig venue. So, for me, this is a bitter-sweet in…
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