ENVIRONMENT has ruled out extending paid parking beyond long-term spaces in Town. And it has doubts about the value of charging motorists in the first place.

If the States agrees, places such as Beau Sejour, Frossard House and the hospital will escape the 15p per hour fee.

Its recommendation will be debated by the States at the end of the month.

But the department is still disgruntled that paid parking is being brought in at all.

It is the first challenge newly-elected minister David De Lisle will face.

‘Cars pollute only while they are driving. That’s where the public risk is,’ he said. ‘This is where it makes sense environmentally to adopt a tax on fuel rather than incur the high administration costs of setting up this whole business of paid parking and extending it beyond what’s already agreed.’

The new board will discuss the report when it meets for the first time next week, he said.

It was signed by former minister Deputy Bernard Flouquet.

‘It is important to record that there are misgivings among members regarding the introduction of paid parking as a mechanism for delivering the objectives of the Road Transport Strategy,’ it said.

‘It is believed that it can play only a limited role in acting as a disincentive for vehicle use. These misgivings would naturally reach into any proposals for extending paid parking beyond the specific measures resulting from the amendment.’

The board initially wanted the strategy funded by an increase in fuel duty.

But the States backed Deputy Peter Roffey’s amendment to introduce paid parking instead.

Environment was also instructed to look at the desirability and practicality of extending that beyond Town.

It examined whether public sector workers should pay to park.

It said it could be argued that that was desirable and would almost certainly be popular with the public. But it was not practical.

‘It would be just about impossible to enforce. Further, it would be extremely difficult to manage, requiring enforcement officers to have access to obscurely located car parks and compounds, some of which are locked during hours when such access is required.’

The report also ruled out forcing students to pay to park at schools and colleges and introducing it at places such as coastal car parks where there are no restrictions at present.

Again it said that this would be difficult to enforce.

Billet d’Etat page 11