Council reprieves 'little-used' civic car

Concerns were raised about insuring the valuable civic chain if the chairman had to travel by public transport

A council has decided to keep its civic car despite questions over its lack of use.

The vehicle was bought in 2020 for the chairman of West Lindsey District Council to use when travelling to civic events.

However, it had been "rarely used" over the last three years, and only had about 10,000 miles on the clock, a meeting was told.

Councillors heard concerns about the chairman's valuable civic chain being lost if it was carried on public transport.

Councillor Ian Fleetwood said: "The car's always been a thorny topic.

"It sounds like a grand car, but the last I heard it's a Skoda.

"My concern is potentially losing the civic chain if we asked the chairman to catch the train instead – the chain has to be worth at least £25,000," he added.

The vehicle was bought in 2020 for the chairman of the council to travel to civic events (generic image)

Councillor Stephen Bunney, the current chairman, said: "I haven't seen much need to use the car.

"But I'm conscious that future chairs might not be able to drive."

However, council leader Trevor Young questioned whether the little-used car would be looked upon favourably by taxpayers:

"It may have been 20 or 30 years ago, but my gut is it wouldn't be seen that way today while money is tight and people struggle to pay council tax."

The meeting heard that a total of £2,400 was budgeted each year for the car's MOT, maintenance and fuel.

The question of the car's future was deferred for a year while the council looked at other potential uses for it, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

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