The request for the referendum came from Eastbourne Borough Council and called on the County Council to "hold a referendum of the electors of Eastbourne to decide if they are in favour of the pay to park charges in the town and that East Sussex County Council abide by the result of that referendum".
In deciding not to agree to the request, Councillor Lock pointed out that the parking proposals for Eastbourne have been in development since 1999 and were subject to two major consultation exercises in 2003 and 2006 which were open to anyone to respond. Since then consultation has taken place on the detailed layout of the controls and the County Council has just completed a formal consultation on the Traffic Orders that would bring the new controls into effect. Again, anyone was able to respond to this consultation and the responses are to be reported to the County Council’s Planning Committee on 22 September 2008. A decision will then be made as to whether to introduce the Traffic Orders, with or without modifications.
A referendum would cost taxpayers between £40,000 and £60,000 and, bearing in mind the consultations which had already taken place, would be a waste of taxpayers’ money.
There were also legal doubts about the motion from Eastbourne because it seemed to cover off-street parking – this is not a County Council responsibility so it would not be possible to deal with it in a referendum.
In making the request the Borough Council also suggested that costs had been incurred for the Lewes scheme, without any apparent benefits to the town.
Councillor Matthew Lock said: "The introduction of the parking schemes in both Lewes and Hastings have been successful in reducing traffic levels. In addition bus use in Hastings has grown by 18% and there has been a significant increase in the revenue received by Lewes District Council from their off-street car parks in the town. This has been put to good use for the benefit of people living in the town. However, traffic levels and congestion in Eastbourne are increasing due to the lack of effective on-street controls or enforcement on the streets".
Notes to editors
Section 116 of the Local Government Act 2003 gives local authorities the powers to referenda. However local authorities are not legally bound by the results.
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