Council bosses have said the workers are likely to continue receiving the perk at least until the Tithebarn regeneration becomes a reality in at least six years time.

Now calls have been made to scrap the perk at a time when taxpayers are having to pay more. Critics of free parking for workers say charging them for car parking could help plug the £1m budget black hole.

The authority could rake in almost £520,000 a year if the 640 employees who get free parking permits were made to pay the same rate as everyone else.

That would be enough to wipe out half the savings needed, protecting jobs and halting the proposed axing of the Passport to Leisure, keeping cemetery charges down and stopping reductions in community grants - just some of the things facing the chop in 2008/9.

Two years ago the cost of parking in some city car parks rose 30 per cent from £1 to £1.30 for between one to two hours.

Two years earlier, the council, in line with the rest of Lancashire, got tough on drivers who overstayed their welcome by employing a team of traffic wardens to monitor the car parks and streets.

Lancashire County Council is set to begin charging its employees to park on its car parks from April as part of a huge package of budget cuts announced last year, although this move has proved unpopular with staff and unions.

Already some county council staff working in Preston city centre must pay for a permit to park in city council car parks.

And staff at the Royal Preston Hospital have been paying to park at work for years.

But 550 Preston Council employees are given permits for free parking at the bus station car park, while a further 90 park for nothing at the Market Hall car park.

Tulketh ward Labour Coun Robert Boswell said it is an issue his group is planning to look at the issue.

He added: "It is an archiac thing as far as I am concerned. It would bring a lot of money in but you can't just change people's terms of employment, it would need to be negotiated."

Liberal Democrat group leader Danny Gallagher said: "I think if there is a saving to be made we should look at it.

"I would encourage most employees if they can to use public transport or another mode of transport such as cycling."

Charging the 550 employees using the Bus station car park for a £195 per quarter Monday to Friday season ticket, the council could make a further £429,000, while the 90 employees paying £245 per quarter on the Market Hall car park would raise another £88,200.

Councillors have 44 parking passes, but they would likely claim any parking changes back through their expenses.

Resources portfolio holder Coun Eric Fazackerley said: "This is something I looked into years ago on the basis of seeing why we gave these permits.
"As I understand it, it is subject to conditions of employment and is an issue with unions."

No one from the Preston Council Unison office was available to comment.
A council spokesman said: "Like many other councils and businesses, the city council provides free parking to employees.

"Many employees working at depots around the city are able to park at their place of work. Other employees, based in the city centre, park in council owned car parks."

However, the spokesman added that the parking permit scheme could be reviewed in the future anyway because the demand for parking spaces is likely to rocket as the Tithebarn Regeneration Project comes to fruition.

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