Council Agrees to Examine Extending Parking Charges

The Highland Council has agreed to proceed with car parking surveys during this summer at eight locations in the Highlands to establish if the introduction of car parking charges will help with traffic management.

The Council voted 35 votes to 27 to support a motion by Cllr Charlie King, Chairman of the TEC Services Committee, that the Council should examine the feasibility of charging in Alness, Dingwall, Drumnadrochit, Gairloch (pier), Kyle, Nairn, Thurso and Wick.

Where the initial parking survey identified traffic management problems relating to traffic congestion or insufficient parking, a detailed parking assessment would be carried out to establish the viability of introducing a scheme for parking charges as a traffic management issue.

Where the initial parking survey showed there were no traffic management problems relating to traffic congestion or insufficient parking, no further action would be taken.

A further report would be taken back to the TEC Services Committee once the initial surveys had been completed.

The unsuccessful amendment, by Councillor Andy Anderson, proposed that a survey be carried out in Kyle only, as it was readily accepted that the community required a traffic management system. 

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