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Council to consider ditching cash parking payments

BBC A large white letter P on blue background about the words Pay Here BBC
Wakefield Council operates 92 pay and display machines at 73 on and off-street car parks

Cash payments at car parks across Wakefield could be scrapped after the council revealed it spent £140,000 on repairing pay and display machines last year.

A report to councillors said some of the cost was due to machines being vandalised or targeted by thieves.

The local authority, which operates 92 machines at 73 on and off-street car parks, said switching to entirely cashless payments could cut vandalism and prevent problems with coin jamming.

Councillors are due to discuss the issue at a meeting next week.

LDRS Picture of Borough Road Car Park in Wakefield City centre. It shows a number of cars parked, with a road in the foreground and buildings in the background. LDRS
Wakefield Council is considering introducing cashless parking payments at sites like Borough Road car park

Figures contained in the report show the council spent £140,000 during the 2023-24 financial year on the repair and maintenance of car parking machines and a further £37,000 on collecting money from the machines.

Setting out the pros and cons of ditching cash payments, it said the possible reduction in vandalism would cut repair costs and resolve instances of lost income while the machine is out of use.

However, it said it recognised that switching to cashless payments could exclude drivers who did not have bank cards or smart phones, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Any proposals to remove cash payments would need to be accompanied by an equality impact assessment.

As of June 2023, 22 councils across England had started making the transition to cashless payments.

Some councils completely removed pay and display machines, while others chose to phase out cash payments and retain the option of paying by credit or debit card.

The report also said: "Wakefield Council has an opportunity to engage with local authorities who have already, or are, making the transition to cashless payments and learn from their experiences to improve the transition across the district."

The council's regeneration, environment and economic growth scrutiny committee is expected to discuss the report at a meeting on 15 January.

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