Drivers will be forced to pay for their stay at Inverurie town centre after council chiefs voted through the controversial measures to fill their coffers.
The new charges will come into force next month – despite dozens of objections from residents who claim this would “kill” their otherwise thriving area.
It came as Aberdeenshire Council aims to plug a £35.45 million black hole in their budget.
Parts of the Burn Lane car park already have pay and display meters – bringing in around £63,000 per year.
However, most of it has been free of charge – until now.
And local authority bosses estimate that extending the parking fee to the entire car park would raise an extra £35,000 annually.
Parking fees were increased by up to 30% earlier this year to save a further £150,000.
This means parking for an hour at car parks across the region has gone up from 50p to 65p, while the nine-hour fee has jumped to £6.25.
Free parking is also expected to be axed at St Mary’s in Banff, Hanover Street in Fraserburgh and Turriff’s High Street.
Inverurie residents hit out at ‘absolute disgrace of an idea’
Members of the public were able to share their views on the move in the summer, with 18 furious residents objecting.
Some worried the change would put people off from shopping locally, which would have a negative impact on businesses in the town centre.
Others feared that taking free spaces away would lead to more motorists parking on residential streets, the railway station and supermarkets nearby.
One resident slammed the proposed – now approved – move, saying it would force people to shop elsewhere or “succumb to online shopping”.
It comes after Inverurie town centre was hailed as the “most successful in Scotland”, with only one vacant unit and scores of independent businesses.
They added: “Your decision to charge for the last free car park in the town centre will be the beginning of a death knell for yet another part of our economy.
“Don’t kill off Inverurie town centre by your greed.”
A fellow disgruntled local queried in dismay: “Why remove a facility which is supporting local businesses?
“The council should be looking to help our communities thrive not shut them down.
“None of this cost will be recouped in parking charges when people choose to go elsewhere.
“The council will have succeeded in creating yet another lifeless town centre.”
While another simply said it was an “absolute disgrace of an idea and the right way to go if you want to kill off local shops”.
Inverurie car parks ‘under pressure’
The controversial proposal was put before the Garioch area committee today.
Inverurie BID boss Derek Ritchie echoed these worries, pleading councillors to reject the charges as he was worried the change would create parking chaos in the town.
He revealed that businesses within the Garioch Shopping Centre feared their free car park next door could end up overwhelmed.
And he raised his own concerns for those who park in Burn Lane all day for work.
He added: “There’s a continual problem with people coming in and parking at private car parks when they shouldn’t be and that’s only going to get worse.”
Parking fees to put ‘pressure and misery on constituents’
Councillor Dominic Lonchay also voiced his “strongest possible opposition” to the proposal, and accused his colleagues of ignoring residents’ concerns.
He said: “We held consultations with the public but we seem to say ‘let’s forget about the objections because it doesn’t suit us’.
“Given Aberdeenshire Council’s need for money, our role should be to live within our means not merely try to cover our financial shortcomings and lack of action by piling up more pressure and misery on our constituents.”
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Pay and display branded a ‘good thing’
However, councillor and Aberdeenshire provost Judy Whyte had an alternative view.
Reflecting on her 14 years at the helm of Mitchells Dairy, she suggested that free parking actually harms town centre footfall – and the new charges draw more visitors.
She explained: “When a car park wasn’t charging, what happened was static cars stayed there all day and workers parking there made it very difficult for customers to come in.
“There is lots of evidence that pay and display encourages turnover of vehicles, it makes it easier for people to visit businesses and spend money in the town centre.
“I think pay and display is in the favour of businesses.”
The intense discussion ended up going to a vote, with the parking fees being backed by 10 to four.
Read more:
- Laings: Owners of Inverurie’s oldest business on helping Scotland’s ‘busiest town centre’ thrive
- William Bruce: 100-year-old Inverurie shoe shop reveals how customers from Aberdeen are boosting footfall
- New Inverurie Sainsbury’s could cause car park chaos with ‘five times the number of shoppers’
- Parking charges soar but gritting spared as we reveal full scale of budget cuts across Aberdeenshire
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