Inverness could lead the way in the north with a novel “car club” scheme for short-term vehicle hire – the plan has divided city councillors.
A two-year trial has been agreed, with a total of 16 designated parking bays – mostly newly created spaces – to be made available for members of a privately operated and environmentally friendly scheme that aims to reduce car ownership.
The bays will be in Portland Place, Wells Street, Greig Street, Huntly Street, Ness Walk, Church Street, Bank Street, Academy Street, Strothers Lane, Union Street, Ardconnel Street and Castle Street.
Highland Council’s city committee dismissed objections from Crown Community Council and the Inverness Bid business project.
The scheme allows drivers to hire a vehicle for a matter of a few hours – “from as little as £3.50 per hour”.
Central ward councillor Donnie Kerr objected to the choice of allocated spaces, some of which he felt were “poorly thought out”.
He said: “Given that all the spaces are in our ward, the lack of prior consultation to ward members was dire.”
Ward colleague Janet Campbell attempted to postpone the council’s decision to allow fuller consideration of the locations but lost a vote on it.
Their ward colleague Richard Laird, sees the car club as a win-win for the city.
“The advantage for the individual is they don’t need to own a car while, for the community, there are fewer cars around,” he said.
City centre bookshop owner Charles Leakey doubted it would have a measurable impact on vehicle numbers.
“We’ve created a culture and an economy characterised by extreme car and lorry dependency, and we have to live with the consequences, I suppose.
“It’s a forlorn hope that you’re going to solve it with a car club. Public transport is the way to go, I think.”