Calls made to bring back cash payments to car parks

While most of BCP Council’s services has the option to pay either digitally, with a card or with cash, there are some examples where coins and notes are not an option anymore. 

An example of this is across council-owned car parks where many only accept payment via an app on a phone. 

But, while BCP Council said it is not a cashless authority, calls have been made to offer non-digital services on everything. 

Cllr Joe Salmon with fellow councillor and wife Kate (Image: Cllr Kate Salmon)

Green councillor Joe Salmon, who suggested the changes, said: “There are a lot of people who are impacted by this and don’t have access to regular banking services and that’s not just a tiny unimportant minority of people. 

“There are a significant number of people in this country who simply don't have access to a type of banking services that give them the debit cards that lots of us are used to.

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“It bothered me when we brought this up at full council before that since then we have not been able to produce a black and white justification of why we have moved to cashless.” 

Labour’s George Farquhar said he is “troubled by the cashless society”, saying when he was first elected the council was “moving away” from machines that accepted cash. 

Cllr George Farquhar (Image: BCP Council)

“The car parks in the town centre moved from cash, it had some machines that were digital only and certain demographic, the older generation, didn’t have the ability to actually pay,” he said. 

Labour’s Peter Cooper questioned whether all council services could offer a non-digital alternative, such as ordering a green bin. 

“People say to us I wish I could talk to somebody, I wish I could talk to a human being about the bin or the pothole. 

“How many times do they say they have been put on a digital telephone and given a million and one options? By the time you’ve listened to them all, you forgot what you phoned up for.” 

Cabinet member for finance Mike Cox insisted BCP Council is not a cashless authority, saying there are “numerous” opportunities to pay with cash such as paying council tax. 

Cabinet member for finance Mike Cox (Image: BCP Council)

He added: “If there is a problem paying for green bins with cash, I’d like to know about it because it should be available.  

“The only services I can see where BCP does not accept cash is buying ice creams on the seafront kiosks and parking in the car parks. 

“The removal of cash from seafront kiosks was started during Covid and there is no intention to instate that unless there is a compelling financial case to do so. 

“Removing cash may have benefitted independent local traders so there is a balance to be considered if such a compelling case can be made. 

A report will now be written and put in front of BCP’s cabinet at a later date.