North Ayrshire Residents Petition Against Proposed Parking Charges

A petition against parking charges in North Ayrshire has gained significant support, urging the council to reconsider its plans amid rising living costs

North Ayrshire Residents Petition Against Proposed Parking Charges
North Ayrshire Residents Petition Against Proposed Parking Charges

Kilmarnock: A petition against parking charges was started by Dino and Sons last year. They found out the council was thinking about getting rid of free parking in town centers.

Since then, they’ve been gathering signatures at their shop on Main Street. So far, they’ve collected 1,100 signatures in person and another 800 online after sharing the petition on Facebook.

On January 7, the petition and supporting documents were handed over to Cunninghame House by the business owners and their landlord, Graeme Milliken.

They made sure it reached the council’s chief executive, Craig Hatton, and it’s set to be discussed by the audit and scrutiny committee on January 23.

Graeme expressed his concerns, saying, “These proposals are not just unfair; they’re unjustifiable. It feels like they’re trying to profit from parking and hurt the community.”

He added, “With the cost of living crisis getting worse, this would just add more pressure on families who are already struggling.”

Graeme believes the council should find savings within their own budget instead of penalizing local businesses and residents.

He urged the council to listen to the community and rethink the parking charges.

Petition organizers are hopeful this time will be different, especially since they faced a similar situation two years ago.

Back in February 2023, the council had considered introducing parking charges in several town center car parks, which led to another petition from local businesses who feared it would hurt town centers.

Those plans were eventually dropped after a vote by the councillors.

Now, the council will revisit the parking charge proposals when they set the budget for 2025/26 on February 26.

A spokesperson for North Ayrshire Council mentioned, “We’re facing a big budget gap next year, which means tough decisions ahead. But no decisions have been made yet.”

They’re currently reviewing feedback from the community to help guide the councillors in their upcoming budget meeting.

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Mangesh Wakchaure is a talented writer who shares engaging and insightful content on topics ranging from politics to culture.