Climate, homes and parking dominate South Hams budget debate

Councillors clash over priorities

South Hams Council is spending too much money fighting climate change and not enough on housing local families, it’s been claimed.

The comments from Conservative councillor Nicky Hopwood (Woolwell) came as the authority set its council tax for the coming year, with an increase of 2.99 per cent.

That means an extra £5.70 a year for the typical Band D property as the district council’s share of the tax rises to £196.66. Households will have to pay contributions towards county council services, town and parish councils, police and fire services on top of that.

Cllr Hopwood said she supported spending on climate change, but argued that the council has its priorities wrong.

It plans to spend more than £2 million on the climate battle during the four years of the current Liberal Democrat administration, and Cllr Hopwood challenged the leadership: “You said it is your top priority instead of housing. Tell that to the people on the housing register and see what their priority is. I’ll bet you it won’t be climate change.

“It’s not that I disagree on how the budget is balanced. I just think some of the priorities are wrong.”

She said spending on climate change is ‘excessive’.

“It may help future generations but it won’t help now,” she added. “For many of our residents, the money in their pockets now is the issue, and we need to help them in different ways.”

Car parking charges also featured prominently in the full council’s budget debate, with plans for the year ahead featuring a two-tier system in which local residents can get discounts while visitors pay full, increased, charges.

Some local communities have opposed the changes, and a group of Ivybridge traders organised a protest boycott of the town’s main car park the day before the meeting.

But council leader Julian Brazil (Lib Dem, Stokenham) said the protest had backfired. “We had more people using the car park, because the spaces weren’t blocked by commuters,” he said.

Cllr Hopwood claimed the new parking charges amounted to an ‘unofficial tourist tax’, and businesses whose staff travelled to work from outside the South Hams would be punished.

Cllr Brazil said regular employees could buy discount parking permits, and added: “I appreciate there has been a difference of views here.

“Our view was that a lot of visitors, and tourists in particular, use a lot of the services we provide, all paid for by South Hams taxpayers. We felt it was only fair that they should help pay for some of that as well.

“I appreciate some people don’t agree.”