FREE parking will return to town centre car parks for at least a year, after a councillor who works as a delivery driver made a passionate plea to the council.
Cllr Sean Dillow proposed an amendment to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council's (BDBC) new budget, calling for £90,000 to be put aside to allow for the return of free daytime parking to Top of Town car parks, in order to drive footfall and boost the local economy.
During the council's meeting to decide on the amendment, Cllr Dillow stressed that "shopping habits have changed, margins are tighter, and footfall is under pressure.
"Parking policy should be helping local traders compete – not acting as a barrier."
He made the point that delivery drivers for companies such as Just Eat and Deliveroo are often "discouraged" by parking costs and "when drivers are discouraged by parking costs, that trade goes elsewhere."
Cllr Dillow, who works as a freelance photographer and a delivery driver himself, came under fire from other councillors for putting forward a motion that he would "disproportionately benefit" from.
Cllr Paul Basham said: "I want to give Cllr Dillow a chance if he has a broader disclosure to make, he's an Amazon delivery driver and does Deliveroo too, I think he would disproportionately benefit."
Cllr Dillow responded by saying: "I have taken my time to speak with local businesses and delivery drivers, like myself.
"Yes, I take it upon myself to earn extra cash to pay my council tax.
"Sometimes my residents are surprised and say 'Oh Sean, why are you delivering my Nando's?'
"I work hard and do what I need to do."
The amendment faced criticism from other members of the council, who argued that it was put forward at short notice, however, Cllr Dillow responded: "Arguing that you can't support this amendment because you didn't get any notice, didn't seem to worry you with Cllr Basham's amendment [for road safety measures]."
Co-leader of BDBC, Cllr Gavin James, argued that the council would not be able to fund the amendment, and that the money would have to come from the council's cleaning project funds.
He said: "Deja vu, we had this last year. The one-hour free parking was convenient if you need to nip into the Top of Town to go to the post office
"It's a backwards step. Look at where the £90,000 is coming from - the cleaning projects. We don't want to take away that. I will not be supporting this motion."
A further amendment was made, mid-meeting, to propose that the funding comes from a grant, and would have a trial period of one year.
A vote was taken and 23 councillors voted in favour, while 17 voted against.
After the meeting, Cllr Dillow shared a social media post saying: "A great win for our residents this evening. It is our duty as Councillors to ensure that any levers that we have are pulled to help residents and support our local economy.
"This means residents will again be able to park short term for free when visiting our town centre whilst still benefitting from free parking after 7pm too.
"This barrier to trade for independent retailers and restaurants that restricted independent delivery car drivers from parking for 10 minutes to collect online food deliveries has now gone for a year.
"Residents will again be able to pop into town to visit our Top of the town market stalls, visit the bank or collect a takeaway without having to pay for the privilege."
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