Banff and Fraserburgh set to keep their free parking spaces
Council-owned car parks in Banff and Fraserburgh are to keep their free spaces due to concerns charging for them would harm the town centres.
Members of the Banff and Buchan area committee unanimously refused the proposed parking order at the St Mary’s and Hanover Street facilities.
Their decision comes just weeks after their Garioch counterparts voted to scrap free parking at Inverurie’s Burn Lane car park.
Axing free parking was one of many decisions made earlier this year in a bid to plug a £35.45 million black hole in its finances.
Council officers argued the charges were needed to cover the upkeep of car parks across the region instead of finding cash elsewhere in its already stretched budget.
Three members of the public submitted their objections to the charges as part of a consultation exercise held earlier this year.
One explained that they worked in Banff and relied on the free spaces in St Mary’s car park.
Their letter stated: “Having to pay for parking will cost me £25 per week which I cannot afford.
“I’ve spent time looking for an alternative place to park and there is scant availability.
“It will be practically non-existent once all the people who work in and around the area start parking in the streets.”
Meanwhile, another feared the change would put people off from visiting Banff.
They said: “Being able to park easily to visit any town always makes it a pleasant place to remember, with more likelihood of returning.
“Encouraging visitors surely has to be beneficial for the town.”
Committee members didn’t believe they had enough information to prove that the parking charges would be financially beneficial for the council.
Councillor John Cox noted that currently, any free spaces in the St Mary’s facility are typically full while those in pay and display areas are empty.
“That would potentially indicate that the car park will be empty and we won’t get that revenue,” he said.
The Banff member also welcomed the long-awaited opening of budget retailer Aldi in Macduff, but issued a stark warning to his colleagues.
“We’ve had the fortune of Aldi opening which is brilliant for the local community but that has the knock-on effect that there will be less people in Banff.”
While councillor James Adams feared removing the free spaces in Fraserburgh’s Hanover car park would not be a popular move.
He said: “The free spaces are full but the rest of the car park is looking sparse.
“We’ve had business owners tell us that there has been a drastic fall in people visiting, to go ahead with this will aggravate an already tense situation.”
And councillor Ross Cassie added: “There is no evidence this will benefit anyone.
“This strikes me as an exercise that will gain absolutely nothing other than a lot of angry residents within our communities.”
