Kirklees Council gives MPs more free parking after Barry Sheerman plea

Mar 3 2010 By Huddersfield Examiner

In it the Labour MP says his staff have to travel from his office in Cross Church Street to locations across Huddersfield.

The letter says: "They often meet me at venues bringing other staff with them, interns, work placements etc. Increasingly the areas we have to visit are covered by residents’ parking areas, where permits are required.

"We are very much in need of flexible parking and the second parking permit is absolutely critical in maintaining an excellent service to the people of the town, saving valuable time."

Linda Wild of Mountjoy Road in Edgerton spoke against the proposal at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting in Huddersfield Town Hall.

She said: "A lot of people who come to do key jobs in Huddersfield don’t get free parking. Why should Barry Sheerman’s staff get a free permit?

"If Barry Sheerman wants another permit, why doesn’t he buy one? He can have 1,000 permits for all I care, as long as he buys them."

Council leader Clr Mehboob Khan told Mrs Wild that any MPs who wanted an extra pass would have to write to the council explaining why they needed one.

The Cabinet unanimously backed the plan.

MPs had two parking passes until 2006, when the council reduced this to one. All 69 Kirklees councillors have a parking pass.