Kettering Council hands out nearly 450 parking permits to staff and councillors

The figure, obtained by the Northants Telegraph through a Freedom of Information request, relates to permits which can be used in Kettering Council-owned car parks while on work duties from Monday to Friday for the calendar year of 2016.

In contrast Corby Council, the only other authority in the north of the county to charge for parking in its car parks, gave out 38 permits.

In December last year it was revealed that Kettering Council made a profit of £291,000 in parking charges for the financial year of 2014/15, with Corby Council making £113,000.

Parking in any council-owned car park in Kettering would cost a member of the public £6 for more than three hours.

If a permit holder is using any of the car parks for personal reasons, they are expected to purchase a pay and display ticket as any other member of the public does.

A spokesman for Kettering Council said: “As a proportion of permits are issued to part-time staff and councillors, all 446 permits are not in operation for the full working week and are only used for a limited timeframe.”

A similar Freedom of Information Act request revealed that Corby Council handed out free permanent parking permits to 27 councillors.

Nine permits were also given to members of staff, including the chief executive and all heads of service.

Two temporary permits were also given to members of staff for short-term use while recovering from illness.