LEADING councillors in Brent are divided over parking provision at the new civic centre to be built in Wembley.

Brent Council have begun the process of finding a firm to build its new headquarters in the shadow of Wembley Arena, to replace buildings scattered round the borough including Brent Town Hall.

However, at a meeting last night of the executive, councillors argued over different options for parking at the new civic centre.

Councillor Paul Lorber, leader of the council, insisted the local authority should send out a message to the public and lead the way in encouraging people to find alternatives way to travel than driving.

He said: “We need to change people's habits as part of our leadership role, and show that you don't have to hop into your car to get to places necessarily.

“I feel very strongly that people are focusing on the wrong thing. Our challenge is not about parking, it's about traffic congestion.”

A motion was put forward by deputy leader Councillor Bob Blackman to build another mezzanine floor under the new civic centre to boost parking provision from 156 spaces to 189.

He argued the move, at a cost of £2million, would be beneficial in the long run as it would pay for itself eventually, and would mean the council was not left relying on private parking firms who may charge high fees.

He said: “We want the building to be thriving, we want the community to come and use the building as often as possible.

“When people in ten, twenty, thirty, years time, and when they ask who were the people who made the decision, I want them to say what good decisions they made.

“I am proposing we go for the maximum possible car parking under planning rules.”

However, after 45 minutes of debate, Cllr Blackman's motion was defeated by six votes to three, and the parking provision proposed by Cllr Lorber was approved.

The new civic centre will include a 1,000 capacity community hall, to be hired out privately and used by community groups. There are concerns among some councillors that the parking spaces may not be sufficient to cope with the numbers of people using the centre.

The council agreed at last night's meeting to go out to tender to choose a firm to build the new centre, which is hoped to be finished by 2013 on the site in Engineers Way.