Car parking income in Wakefield 'may never return to pre-Covid levels'

Wakefield Council's chief finance officer, Neil Warren, said that long-term changes in people's lifestyles may result in less revenue going into the public purse.

The council made all of its car parks free to use from the beginning of lockdown until July 6 this year, at a cost of £1m.

Leisure centres and swimming pools are starting to reopen, but their closures also saw the authority miss out on more than £2.5m.

In normal times, cash from those venues and car parks is reinvested in council services and subsidise tax.

In a report to a scrutiny meeting on Monday, Mr Warren said: "It will be a long time before these income levels will get back to anything like pre-Covid levels, if indeed they ever do.

"We're expecting to see some long-term behaviour change, particularly with regard to car parking.

"We're seeing a big prevalence in home working, which is happening at the council itself at the moment."

Social distancing will be enforced at council leisure centres and swimming pools, meaning fewer will be able to access those venues at any one time.

After new rounds of government funding, latest estimates pitch the gap in the council's finances at around £15m.

The authority's leader, Denise Jeffery, is planning to present an emergency budget in the autumn, which could see a number of big infrastructure projects shelved.

By contrast however, neighbours Leeds City Council have warned they may face potential bankruptcy, as they try to address a black hole of more than £100m.

Bradford has a £55m deficit to make up, while in Calderdale the estimated gap lies at around £36m.

Mr Warren said Wakefield's deficit would have to be "carefully managed", but added: "The council has a history of good financial management.

"To be honest, we are better placed to cope with this than a lot of other local authorities across the country."

Local Democracy Reporting Service