Oxfordshire councillor questions where his parking space is

Conservative county councillor David Bartholomew made the jibe at Liberal Democrat finance chief Dan Levy at a full county council meeting today (April 16). 

Mr Bartholomew questioned why the new county council office would not include parking for councillors at the authority's future site in the Speedwell Street campus in the New Osney area of Oxford.

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The Sonning Common division representative said: "This discriminates against councillors representing rural areas for whom public transport is not a realistic option.

Mr Bartholomew speaks out. (Image: Oxfordshire County Council.)

"Does the cabinet member want proper representation from rural areas and will he reconsider these plans?"

The comments come after county councillors agreed in January to dispose of the existing office site in New Road in Oxford for a carbon-neutral alternative.

Officials said this meant moving to a more "efficient", "net-zero" and "green" building.

A date has not been confirmed for when the council moves into the new office at this stage.

Mr Bartholomew added: "I previously understood that the property strategy was to be developed on a cross-party basis. However the removal of parking for councillors when the move to Speedwell House takes place was never discussed."

Dan Levy. (Image: West Oxfordshire District Council.)

Finance chief Dan Levy, of the Eynsham division, said a good use of council property was not to spend it on a "reserved parking space for councillor Bartholomew".

Mr Levy concluded: "I wasn't aware that the property strategy was designed to make it especially convenient for people from South Oxfordshire to drive into the centre of Oxford."

But Mr Bartholomew said the finance chief was "not familiar" with public transport from Henley where there are "no buses" and a train-ride would take two and a half hours.