Thank you for signing the Keep Sidley Car Park Free petition, and thank you to those of you who have filled in Rother's Budget consultation (link here if you haven't yet: https://www.rother.gov.uk/consultations/council-budget-2025/

If you haven't already, please share this petition with your friends, family and with local social media groups on Facebook, Nextdoor etc. 

We are nearing 500 signatures and it would be great if we can get it there before the next Cabinet meeting on December 9th - that way I can mention that over 500 of you have already expressed your concerns with the proposals to charge in Sidley car park. (note: this isn't the meeting where a decision will be made, that will happen after the consultation ends, early next year - but I will still be mentioning it as it is linked to an agenda item). 

I know my colleagues on Cabinet well and they are already sympathetic to this - but some just need to be convinced that paying for parking here would not work. We all know the reasons why. Passers-by would just park in Lidl instead or drive on and do their shopping somewhere else. It will negatively affect local businesses, and it would only be an extra burden on All Saints parents when the school has worked hard to encourage them to park there. 

In a less tricky time financially, these reasons would be more than enough to stop this even being put on the table, but it is really important to stress - this is a tough sell. And here is why:

In 2019, when I became a Councillor, Rother had a yearly deficit of circa £3m, and because local government has not been supported as much by government funding since austerity, there is a yearly struggle - like with many households and businesses - to balance the books and find places to make savings. This is why we've seen things like reduced parks maintenance and public toilet temporary closures.

Sitting in Cabinet meetings when we are confronted with the reality that the council cannot deliver its core services without major savings, there are no easy answers - and every choice has downsides. And whilst the new government has begun to change things by offering more support in the long term, there are no overnight fixes. The situation is even worse for East Sussex County Council with their proposals to cut huge parts of their social care provision. Unfortunately, council tax alone only covers a small fraction of what these services cost to deliver.

Most of Rother's budget goes on important things like waste and recycling bin collections - and it leaves very little money for everything else. So when councillors are told that more money can be found by charging via RingGo in the remaining free car parks, you can see why it could be considered something worth doing...

But WE know that it would not work in Sidley. It would not make the money that the rough calculations suggest, and any money it does make would be at the expense of the parents, businesses and people of Sidley. There has to be another way. 

This is why it is really important that you, as residents and local businesses, make your voices heard on these issues - and as one of Sidley's District Councillors, I will always do what I can to amplify your voices and stand up for your priorities, as will  my colleague Cllr Chowdhury. 

Thank you again for signing and sharing this petition - don't forget to fill in Rother's budget consultation too. 

All the best,
Cllr Sam Coleman

Speak soon.