Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Staff parking plans at Moray Council thrown into chaos as councillors reject permit system

Graham Leadbitter, Elgin South Councillor
Graham Leadbitter, Elgin South Councillor

Proposals to introduce charges for staff car parking at Moray Council have been thrown into chaos after they were rejected by councillors.

The authority announced a £20 monthly charge for employees using spaces next to its Elgin headquarters following budget talks – a proposal that was unanimously backed.

But the proposal attracted a furious response from unions amid accusations that the fee was a “wage grab” to prop up under-pressure budgets.

And yesterday the charges were voted down by the council’s economic development and infrastructure committee.


>> Keep up to date with the latest news with The P&J newsletter


Some councillors raised fears the scheme would be an administrative nightmare to implement it and suggested an alternative £1-per-day pay and display system.

The permit scheme could yet be revived, however, as it will be discussed again at a full council meeting amid concerns that delays implementing the charge, which will generate about £40,000 per year, will hit other budgets.

Council leader Graham Leadbitter, who backed the charges, said: “When it comes back to  full council there need to be alternatives from those who opposed this on where the funding might be found.

“I can’t stress enough how difficult and challenging the financial circumstances of the council are.

“There will be significant consequences for next year’s budget if budget decisions are overturned without alternatives.”

Moray Council’s transport manager Nicola Moss said the permit system would have guaranteed spaces for everyone who used them.

And there were warnings a pay and display system could fall foul of equalities rules, as it would secure spaces for staff who start later in the day due to childcare or other care responsibilities.

Fochabers Lhanbryde councillor Marc Macrae led calls to oppose the system due to concerns the consultation with staff was a “tick box exercise” – a description supported by Mr Leadbitter.

Mr Macrae said: “While we fully understand the rationale behind the introduction of parking charges for staff ,we were very disappointed that the consultation held gave no real detail of the proposals.

It therefore did not allow proper discussion or responses to be made.”

Mrs Moss explained that presenting the charges with a lot of detail could have made the decision appear as a “fait accompli”.

The committee voted against introducing the permit system by six votes to four.