Angus councillors have refused to rule out the return of parking charges but vowed to “stand against” the prospect any time soon.
The local authority approved the use of community wardens as “parking police” under plans to fine people parking on single and double yellow lines, and ticket those whose cars linger in time-limited parking spaces. Two additional community wardens will be employed as part of the plans.
Parking has been free in Angus since the transitional council formed in 1996 but a business case to Scottish ministers has retained the possibility of its reintroduction.
This was referred to full council by councillors Bill Bowles and David Fairweather, who lost a vote to banish charged parking “forever” by 21 councillors to six.
Members broadly supported the continuation of free parking. But council leader Iain Gaul said such an action would risk Transport Scotland declining the business case for decriminalised enforcement, and wardens with it.
Mr Gaul said: “We all want free parking in Angus. Why would we put our business case at risk by putting in our submission that there would be no parking charges forever?
“In the meantime, we’ve got Dodge City out there.”
Mr Bowles said retaining the possibility of charged parking was “premature” and would be for a “separate debate”.
Mr Bowles’s amendment to the business case was seconded by Mr Fairweather, who said he supports the introduction of wardens on streets that are “a mess”.
“If we do put in car parking charges in the future, our residents and our visitors will all go to supermarkets, as they will be free, and that will be hugely detrimental to our small shopping areas,” he said.
Councillor Glennis Middleton said the business case had to be put forward “in the fullest possible terms” to secure wardens for the streets.
A member-officer group came up with decriminalisation after the withdrawal of police from enforcing parking offences, and frequent complaints to councillors about the amount of illegal parking in towns in Angus.
Councillor David May said: “I have regularly complained about Police Scotland’s decision to remove traffic wardens. Across Angus, people park in the wrong places all day and the effect that this has had on our shops has been, in some cases, catastrophic.”