Monmouthshire County Council have responded to a freedom of information request on the benefits of free Christmas parking over subsidising public transport.

The Beacon reported, last week, that Monmouth Town Councillor Emma Bryn pressed the county council on what evidence there was to support the free Christmas parking scheme and why subsidised buses, they have since responded.

The county council have since responded: "We have not charged for Christmas parking since the new machines and software have been installed, therefore we cannot provide accurate data for this part of the request and we have taken an average from November’s income data as follows: an average of £7,500 per weekend totalling £30,000 for an average month."

Cllr Bryn also requested data on the effects this has had on other modes of transport including bus use, walking and cycling and any expected effect on change of air quality considering the expected increase in car use during this period. MCC said that they do not hold this data.

She told the Beacon: "They do have a monitors in Monmouth so I’m not sure why they cannot provide this information."

She added: "It’s a shame, as it doesn’t consider the poorest and most vulnerable sections of society when you offer free parking but exclude free buses. We all pay taxes and so it means we are all subsidising car parking during this period whether you can afford a car or not."

The Beacon reported last month on the lack of active travel and public transport subsides.

A spokesperson from MCC said: "This is a great idea that we will look to explore in the future. This is not possible for 2021 as there are many elements of ticketing and travel pass schemes to consider first including cross border ticketing issues that would need to be resolved before any scheme could be implemented. We would encourage residents to use public transport wherever possible, however we acknowledge that some residents don’t yet feel ready to return to using public transport due to the pandemic and others for whom it is not suitable. Free weekend parking in council owned car parks in December has been introduced to help support our local independent business. We hope that this will help businesses after what has been almost two years of unprecedented challenges brought by the pandemic."