Mayor's Jaguar I-PACE costs Peterborough council £27,000 over three years - including £60 parking fine

Peterborough City Council has spent more than £27,000 running the Mayor’s Jaguar I-PACE car over the past three years – including £60 on parking fines.

The authority is one of the biggest spenders in the country when it comes to the first citizen’s vehicle.

A Freedom of Information Request from The Tax Payer’s Alliance shows that Peterborough’s total spend on the mayor’s car was £27,333 (between March 2019 and April 2022).

In 2019, when the authority switched from a Jaguar XJ to the electric I-PACE, the council said civic protocol was that the mayor’s car should be of British origin.

It was hoped the switch to the electric car would save £3,000 a year.

Cars used by other authorities in the country range from Skodas, Kias and Hyundais to Range Rovers, BMWs and Mercedes.

Personal plate valued at nearly £40,000

The council’s spending is made up of £21,672 on leasing costs, £2,680 on fuel, £140 on personal licence plate retention, £2,769 on insurance, and £72 on maintenance – which includes £60 on a parking fine and £12 on cleaning. No details have been given on when and where the parking fine was issued.

The Mayor’s Jaguar has the EG1 personal number plate on it, that has been in possession of the city council for decades. Leader of the council, Wayne Fitzgerald said there were no plans to sell the plate, which he said has an estimated value of around £38,500. In 2016, the council said it had been valued at £50,000.

READ MORE: Number plate is worth £50,000

‘Council should consider if change of vehicle would be right in challenging times’

Speaking to the Peterborough Telegraph, independent councillor Julie Stevenson said there had been calls from some residents to sell the number plate, or look at a change of car for the mayor.

She said: “Residents of my ward, keen to help the council resolve its financial woes, have been asking questions about the mayoral vehicle and its very valuable licence plate.

"I agree that we should investigate all avenues where significant amounts of money can be saved. I don’t know enough about the market for ‘cherished’ license plates but I hope the council will consider whether a sale and a change of vehicle would be right for the city in these challenging times.”

However, other councillors defended the use of the car and retention of the plate.

‘Valuation does not mean potential buyers’

Leader of the council, Wayne Fitzgerald said: “If the mayor was required to take other forms of transport to attend these events, such as taxis, there would not be much of a saving on the current budget.

"With regards to the EG1 number plate, it has recently been valued at £38,500. This valuation was requested by members of our cross-party Financial Sustainability Working Group, who decided not to sell the number plate.

"It is important to add that the valuation does not mean that there are any potential buyers currently willing to pay this amount."

‘Look at councillors’ allowances’

Councillor Chris Harper, leader of the Peterborough First group, said the role of mayor was an important one for the city.

He said: “It is important that the mayor, the civic party, the mace, robes, and the chains of office are transported to functions in such a way as to arrive safely and show the city’s respect to the function host so yes, a decent car is needed, although this is and must continue to be regularly reviewed to ensure best value.”

When asked about the number plate, he said it should be retained – but savings should be made elsewhere.

‘Do we keep selling off heritage?’

He said: “This [selling the plate] is the sort of short-term thinking that we need to move away from. It can only be sold once so if it was to realise the £50,000 value, we will have then sold a large piece of Peterborough’s history for a short-term fix.

"If our budget relies on a £50,000 injection then what happens next year, do we keep selling off our heritage and culture? This is not sustainable road to travel down.

“We need a sustainable year on year solutions to help balance the budget, not short-term wins. I recall as will many residents, that having ‘EG’ as the second and third letter of a number plate meant the vehicle was registered in Peterborough, and for our first citizen to travel in a car with the registration EG1 is entirely proper and something we should protect and be proud of as part of our city’s history.

“Personally, and I know this will be vehemently resisted, we should instead be looking at councillors’ allowances to help balance our budget, a 5 per cent cut in allowances and a reset of basic expenses to this new level would lead to substantial savings year on year, and show we understand the cost-of-living struggle and are truly ‘all in this together’.”

Cost of selling plate would be ‘significant’

Councillor Christian Hogg, leader of the Liberal Democrats in the city, said: “We should be looking at what benefit the mayoral car brings to the city vs the cost of using alternative transport for the mayoral team.

"As for the registration plate for the vehicle, this is a treasured asset owned by the city and whilst the significance of EG1 isn’t obvious, it is in fact the first ever registration for the city. I believe that the book price for this asset is around the £50,000 mark but this depends on finding the right buyer and also the cost of selling which if done through a broker would be significant.”

The Peterborough Telegraph contacted councillor Shaz Nawaz, leader of the Labour Party in the city, and councillor Nicola Day, leader of the Greens, and Peterborough City Council for comment.