Leeds City Council is having difficulty recruiting traffic wardens as the numbers are currently below "historic levels".
While this may be good news for some drivers, it has left illegal parking on streets and in car parks unmonitored in large swathes of the city. Councillors acknowledged the problems in recruitment had been going on since the pandemic.
The information was revealed in a briefing note by the council to a committee on Monday, November 14.
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Councillors in the North-West of Leeds had been asking for more patrols. The letter, read aloud at the meeting by Conservative councillor for Adel and Wharfedale Barry Anderson, said: “It is acknowledged that the number of patrols is below historic levels and that there should be more enforcement.
“Although the service has now recovered from Covid there are ongoing problems with recruitment and it is proving very difficult to attract staff.”
Councillors across the outer North-West of Leeds were told it would cost £28,000 to hire another warden, with the cost then offset by parking tickets.
If this option is taken up, the council says the officer in question would be “expected to concentrate on areas the service can’t cover frequently” and which need more enforcement.
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