Parking in South Ayrshire is going just fine

Nov 9 2012 by Stuart Wilson, Ayrshire Post

It’s been a month since council parking wardens hit the streets in South Ayrshire.

The team, who hit the beat at the start of October, have been bidding to bring back enforcement in towns up and down the region.

And their visible presence is reaping the rewards.

Already, more than1000 penalty charge notices have been dished out to drivers falling foul of the law.

And that means cash in the bank for council chiefs – cash which had been slipping through their fingers during the last year.

But roads manager Kevin Braidwood insists his unit is not just there to dish out fines.

He said: “Our main aim is obviously the enforcement of parking.

“But we also have a very important role to play when it comes to educating the public on where they can and cannot park in and around our towns and villages.

“We get a lot of people asking us questions and their response has, on the whole, been very positive.

“For example, the new scheme actually works out cheaper than the previous parking voucher system that was in operation.”

Parking in South Ayrshire’s towns and villages had become something of a free-for-all during the last year.

Police were forced to take on the role of issuing tickets in their spare time before council bosses rolled out their new team of wardens last month.

And they’ve handed out almost 1200 since starting the job with the focus on Ayr (1020), while Prestwick, Troon and Girvan have also been part of the new regime.

Council planning chief, Mile Newall, says he is “delighted” with the progress of the new warden team.

He added: “The number of penalty charge notices issued shows that we are doing exactly what we said we would and getting tough on parking in our towns and villages.

“Our parking team has been out and about throughout the whole of South Ayrshire and taken action where drivers have failed to park right.

“The team has spent a significant amount of time in Ayr town centre to address the high volumes of illegal parking that we see on a daily basis and we hope the number of notices issued will have a positive effect on parking habits within the town.”

But he stressed the team would be spreading its wings to patrol across the whole of South Ayrshire.

Mr Newall added: “We are committed to ensuring people park right throughout South Ayrshire and that’s what our parking team will continue to do from Barassie to Ballantrae.”