Parking to be debated by Councillors

Councillors are set to discuss proposed changes to parking provision in South Ayrshire at a Cabinet meeting on 18 March.

Proposals to be discussed include changes to on-street pay & display parking, residents' parking, and charging in Council car parks.

If approved, all proposals will be subject to a statutory consultation.

Proposals regarding on-street pay and display parking

In Ayr, proposals for on-street parking would affect parking on streets to the west of Wellington Square (towards the coast).

Currently, much of the on-street parking in these areas is subject to limited waiting restrictions, or no restrictions and there are no residents' or visitor permit options.  It is proposed that both pay & display and resident parking options are introduced, as well as a permit to allow businesses such as guest houses or those working on properties to park their vehicles on these streets.

In Prestwick, there are plans to introduce new restrictions to protect junctions and penalise anyone causing an obstruction. There would be limited waiting introduced to parking bays at Prestwick Toll and parking restrictions on Links Road to deal with long standing parking complaints.

Residents' parking

There are proposals to update historical resident permit schemes which apply to areas on the outskirts of Ayr Town Centre. These schemes have operated since the 1970s and the proposals are aimed at updating the system and creating a wider range of permit options. An annual residents' permit would be set at £45, in line with the residents' parking scheme in Prestwick and would include options for visitor, carer, and business permits.

The proposals also include an update to residential parking in Prestwick, by introducing a new visitor and carer's permit and removing the two permit per household cap.

The number of streets already included in the visitor parking scheme in Prestwick would be expanded.

Parking charges

If approved, the two hours' free on-street parking in Ayr will continue.

In order to fund this, it is proposed that charging is introduced at Council car parks which are currently free in Ayr, Prestwick, Troon, and Girvan. If approved, the charges, would be based on a tiered system with the more popular car parks such as Belleview Road car park in Prestwick and the South Beach Road car park in Troon subject to a £4 daily charge. A proposed £2 daily charge would apply to the second tier of car parks which include locations such as Knockcushan Street car park in Girvan and a proposed £1 daily rate would apply to third tier car parks such as The Vennel car park in Ballantrae.

In Ayr, parking charges at the established pay and display car parks located at Charlotte Street, Barns Crescent and Kyle Street would be charged at £4 per day. This would result in a price reduction and bring these car parks into line with the proposed tiered system.

There are also new proposals to introduce a seasonal charge of £2 for four hours, or £3 for all day parking on Ayr Esplanade from April to September.

If Councillors agree to the recommendations, a consultation will take place as part of the statutory process. This means that anyone directly affected by the proposals will be notified and informed of their right to object during a four-week consultation period.

Councillor Bob Pollock, Depute Leader of South Ayrshire Council said: "Some of these parking rules have not been updated since the 1970s, so this is an opportunity to get feedback from people on the possible introduction of a modern parking scheme, which is fairer and supports businesses, residents and visitors.

 "At the moment these are proposals, however, if Cabinet approve them, a four-week consultation period will follow in line with the statutory process." 

The panel paper can be found at https://www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/article/36999/Search-agendas-for-committee-meetings

All Cabinet papers are subject to a call-in process which means decisions can be called-in for scrutiny by other Councillors prior to implementation.