Edinburgh Controlled Parking Zone: Leith residents say new traffic order will cause ‘parking wars’

As part of Edinburgh’s Controlled Parking Zone, swathes of double and single yellow lines are appearing on the streets – much to the dismay of residents

Residents and business owners in Leith have concerns over the council’s controlled parking zone (CPZ) that is set to go live in late June.

The rollout of the CPZ in Leith, that began in March, saw the introduction of new road markings that the council say are designed to ‘help residents park more easily near their homes’ and ‘address commuter parking’ by introducing permit parking and more single and double yellow lines in the area. The traffic order comes after heat maps were used in 2018 to shape the boundary of the CPZ, with the council subsequently creating a ‘priority list’ to tackle ‘parking pressures’ in the capital.

But many people in Leith fear the CPZ will have the opposite effect and make parking more difficult – echoing similar concerns that were raised during a six-week consultation period in 2021 where it received 1,003 objections.

Nora Murray, from Bathfield, says the controlled parking zone will cause "parking wars"

Bathfield residents Nora and David Murray say the CPZ has removed half of the parking in their area and has caused ‘parking wars’ amongst residents. David Murray said: “The council has created issues we never had before and it’s going to cause a lot of animosity when people come home from work and can’t get a parking space. The council said they were doing this to make parking easier for residents but they’re taking that right away from us because they are double yellowing right along the road.”

Nora Murray said the new parking restrictions will also have an impact on her family who will no longer be able to park their camper van. She said: “Normally they park outside the flat and it has never been an issue, but last month they had to pay £65 to park in Mortonhall Caravan Park because they couldn’t get a space. We were told we can park and Nichollfield and Lindsay Road but they haven’t got a clue. They are totally out of touch with the whole area, they maybe think they are doing good but they’re not. It will cause parking wars.”

Another Bathfield resident who is a mother of two said she is ‘very stressed about not being able to find a parking space near my flat.’ She said: “I also have a mother who has cancer and can’t use public transport due to chemo therapy treatment making her vulnerable. She won’t be able to come and visit me now as there is no visitor parking available.”

Near the Shore, one Leith trader has been left bemused after the introduction of single and double yellow lines last month that protrude over the entry to his loading bays. Terry Burns, director of NuTrend in Mitchell Street said the yellow lines are the latest problem facing business owner in Leith.

Terry Burns said Leith businesses have been "battered" for 15 years

Mr Burns said: “Leith businesses have been battered for 15 years, our business has had enough without having these restrictions. They’ve put double yellow lines across my lane so I can’t load from the street and they’ve put single yellow lines over the white lines for the loading area. So basically anyone can come along, park there for 15 minutes and I wouldn’t be able to get my goods in and out of the building.”

“We need someone to come down here and look at how this building trades and say ‘look we got this wrong’ and remove the single yellow line from the front of the building – that’s all we want, simple stuff.”

Transport convener, Councillor Scott Arthur, said the CPZ aims to ‘address issues like commuter parking, which people across the city have told us is a problem in their neighbourhoods.’

Cllr Arthur said: “As part of our Strategic Parking Review officers have spent a great deal of time speaking to residents and gathering information on each area. Once in place, they’ll also be monitoring the impact of the changes to make sure they work for everyone.”