THE NATIONAL Secular Society is no longer going ahead with legal action against Woking Borough Council regarding the ‘pay to pray’ parking row.

Council leader John Kingsbury said: “I am pleased to say that the council understands the Secular Society is not proceeding with its threatened legal action.”

The council allows worshippers at three churches in the town the free use of their public car parks on Sundays.

But the National Secular Society said this was ‘direct discrimination’ and earlier this year threatened to launch legal action against the authority.

At the time, NSS executive director, Keith Porteous Wood, said: “The equal treatment of all, regardless of belief or non-belief, is a key secular principle.

“We have launched this challenge to preferential treatment of worshippers because it is neither legitimate nor lawful for local government to subsidise the activities of any particular religion and belief group.

“It would be fairer if the council either charge worshippers for parking, as they do everyone else, or they provide free parking on a Sunday for all.”

The council defended their decision, saying the policy applied to all faiths, which ‘encourage people to participate in society’.

Chief executive Ray Morgan said that people should not have to ‘pay to pray’, adding: “The way austerity is going in our society, faith groups might be the only people left standing who are doing any of the lower-level social care.”

Coign Church, Christ Church and Trinity Methodist Church worshippers use a validating device to mark car park tickets without needing to pay between 7am and 1pm on Sundays.

Councillor Kingsbury said: “Following the threat of legal action by the Secular Society, the council provided the society with details of our policy and practice concerning parking concessions to a variety of people and organisations, including the provision of free parking for worshippers.”

However, he added: “Should the society decide to pursue action in future, the council will robustly defend their existing policies and practices.”

In 2011 the council took legal advice on the policy which advised that, although it amounted to ‘indirect discrimination’, it could be justified by being a ‘proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim’.

The cost to the council for providing the free Sunday car parking to worshippers was estimated to be £41,000 in 2012.

Cllr Denzil Coulson stated at a full council meeting in July 2012: “We strongly believe that Woking residents of all faiths or none are entitled to benefit from free parking.

“We felt it would have been fairer to spend £156,000 to help all 96,000 residents on a Sunday rather than spending £40,560 for just 345 cars belonging to one particular faith group.

“Not only would this have been a fairer approach but it would have helped to stimulate economic activity in the town on a Sunday.”