'Selling the family silver' accusation at Brighton and Hove City Council (From The Argus)
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'Selling the family silver' accusation at Brighton and Hove City Council
3:10pm Friday 20th January 2012 in News By James Wallin
The CD1 number plate Buy this photo »
Auctioning the mayoral car’s number plate is like “selling off the family silver”, according to critics.
Brighton and Hove City Council’s minority Green administration hopes to raise £150,000 by auctioning off the number plate of the Brighton and Hove mayor’s official car.
The money would be used to fund community and voluntary groups across the city.
But one former mayor said the CD1 number plate is a part of the city’s heritage and losing it would be a tragedy.
Civic pride
CD1 was donated to the city more than 30 years ago and refers to the local registration letters for the Brighton area.
Cabinet member for finance, Jason Kitcat, said: “Through auctioning the mayoral number plates we will be creating significant new funding sources for the third sector in this city.”
But Labour councillor Brian Fitch, who was mayor in 1989, said the decision was a step too far.
He said: “The CD1 plate is part of our history. It’s like selling off the family silver.
“It is only a one-off saving so wouldn’t be producing £150,000 of savings every year. With that in mind I don’t think the potential damage to our civic pride is worthwhile.
“This was a gift to our city and my fear is it will put people off ever donating anything to us again.
“What’s next? Selling off parts of the Royal Pavilion?”
The move has also been criticised by local historian David Rowland, who said: “It’s the city’s heritage. Where will they draw the line?”
Long debate
The debate over CD1 stretches back more than ten years. In 2001 Green MEP, then a councillor, Keith Taylor suggested getting rid of the plate to raise extra revenue. At that point it was thought to be worth £50,000.
In 2005 an Argus poll on the proposal found the majority of readers were against the sale, saying prestige was more important than a short-term windfall.
However, preliminary results of The Argus’ Balancing the Books poll, in which we are asking readers to rate their budget priorities, shows the mayor’s number plate as the least important of the ten areas mentioned.
Balance the Books
Which areas of Brighton and Hove City Council's budget mean the most to you?
The Argus has chosen ten key areas of the budget proposals to find out which ones out readers think should be treated as a priority in the budget.
Make your choice by filling in our online form at www.theargus.co.uk/news/balancebudget
Comments(31)
Lady Smith
says...
3:17pm Fri 20 Jan 12
fascinator
says...
3:24pm Fri 20 Jan 12
Celine Dion would no doubt pay a fortune
Falstaff
says...
3:28pm Fri 20 Jan 12
Charismatic Andrew
says...
3:37pm Fri 20 Jan 12
fascinator wrote:Or Cameron Diaz. Or Charles Dickens.
Having the number plate is a silly affectation - sell! sell! Celine Dion would no doubt pay a fortune
Cash Cow
says...
3:44pm Fri 20 Jan 12
hovian
says...
3:45pm Fri 20 Jan 12
s&k
says...
3:55pm Fri 20 Jan 12
OP8
says...
3:55pm Fri 20 Jan 12
Reporter1
says...
4:11pm Fri 20 Jan 12
anubis
says...
4:20pm Fri 20 Jan 12
If the Council actually DOES have 'family silver', as well, maybe a small market could be set up at the town hall? A splendid opportunity to get rid of meaningless junk; there are masses of useful services the money could help fund. An opportunity not to be missed !
Well done, Greens !!!!
Cash Cow
says...
4:34pm Fri 20 Jan 12
Reporter1 wrote:Very good point!
There must be some overpaid exec on the council that wouldn't be missed. That would save £150k
AmraNag
says...
4:34pm Fri 20 Jan 12
inadaptado
says...
5:09pm Fri 20 Jan 12
Hove Actually
says...
5:22pm Fri 20 Jan 12
OP8 wrote:Silly Billy The Prius will be chucked in for free as a sweetner....or maybe not
How many people even knew the thing existed before this article? And it's a attached to Prius for gawds sake, sell that too for a couple of extra bob
Fight Back
says...
6:44pm Fri 20 Jan 12
Morpheus
says...
6:56pm Fri 20 Jan 12
Metro Reader
says...
7:10pm Fri 20 Jan 12
I also think that it will cost quite a lot to sell: legal fees, auction fees, DVLA transfer fees, the cost of re-registration of the car with a replacement registration number will all have to be paid for from the £150k which will be subject to VAT which will reduce the amount even further.
Furthermore, selling something that was bequeathed to the city for free is MORALLY WRONG.
One final thought, if the green party are a MINORITY how come they are running the city (into the ground)?
downbythesea
says...
7:19pm Fri 20 Jan 12
Sell it and invest it in Childrens services, or Health Provision, or Youth clubs, not in ridiculous snobbery that means nothing to the majority of people, it's a number plate - nothing more, nothing less.
Let the stupid berks pay £150k for a piece of nonsense plastic for their car!
downbythesea
says...
7:21pm Fri 20 Jan 12
Golfer69
says...
7:35pm Fri 20 Jan 12
Maxwell's Ghost
says...
9:30pm Fri 20 Jan 12
HJarrs
says...
10:28pm Fri 20 Jan 12
inadaptado wrote:Wrong council
So keeping the 250k of the Big Society fund -which may actually be useful- is outrageous, but keeping a stupid number plate is a matter of pride? Priorities, for crying out loud, priorities!
AmboGuy
says...
10:54pm Fri 20 Jan 12
thommy
says...
11:37pm Fri 20 Jan 12
moronslayer
says...
12:09am Sat 21 Jan 12
Baldseagull
says...
2:43am Sat 21 Jan 12
moronslayer wrote:Very good
Pronounced "Seedy one"?
onedaytheleftwillburn
says...
9:33am Sat 21 Jan 12
s&k wrote:I think you will find that it was the Labour liars that put us in this position.
This is what Councils up and down the land have been reduced to under the Coalition government - perhaps a City banker (who might pocket a million or two a year in bonuses sans Tax) would care to buy it?
Dingdong123
says...
1:16pm Sat 21 Jan 12
Cash Cow wrote:Perhaps count dracula could be interested,ill ask my ex girlfriend if shes interested!!!!!
As far as I am concerned, if the number plate was given to the town as a gift then the current authority has no right to sell it just because they are incapable of balancing their books.
salty_pete
says...
9:56pm Sun 22 Jan 12
pun master
says...
3:46pm Tue 24 Jan 12
thommy wrote:Well I totally agree with selling this off, and I can absolutely assure you that I'm no lefty, so could you very kindly do one and jog on. Muppet...
Usual predictable drivel from the Brighton lefties. What this is really about is not the few quid that will be gained for selling this item. It is all about the green marxists ridiculous class struggle that they are waging in their own minds. This plate is only one bit of the infrastructure - binned - next lets dump the mayor, and so on. Why do they not go away and create their own vile little stalinist society somewhere else. All mad as hatters.
Dingdong123 says...
3:16pm Fri 20 Jan 12