Edinburgh parking: Call for delay to Gorgie controlled parking zone after businesses not told of start date

Independent councillor Ross McKenzie says failure to inform is ‘not acceptable’

Calls have been made to halt the roll-out of parking charges in an Edinburgh neighbourhood amid claims “no businesses” in the area received a letter from the council confirming the implementation date.

Gorgie’s Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) will require residents to pay for permits and drivers from outwith the area to pay and display or face a ticket from October 23. But with less than two weeks to go there are concerns that many locals, especially businesses along the high street, are unaware of the change and risk getting caught out as a result of “atrocious communication” about the scheme by the local authority.

An emergency motion will be tabled by independent councillor for Sighthill/Gorgie, Ross McKenzie, calling for enforcement to be paused to allow more time to increase awareness of the CPZ locally. Cllr McKenzie said after speaking to businesses along Gorgie Road he couldn’t find a single one that received a letter confirming the ‘go live’ date which was supposed to be sent to all addresses in the area.

Sighthill/Gorgie independent councillor Ross McKenzie wants a delay in the introduction of the CPZ.

“It’s just not acceptable,” he said. “I want the parking zone delayed until all of the businesses and residents of the area have been informed of when it’s starting, how they can apply for permits, how they can apply for visitor permits and crucially how they can do that offline.

“This is the information that hasn’t been communicated to people, hasn’t been communicated to any businesses on Gorgie Road. A lot of residents have received that letter – not all residents – and for those that have received the letter, it doesn’t tell them how to apply offline.”

Les McBride, owner of Gorgie Cobblers, said he hadn’t been given any information by the council beyond being told “it was happening”. He added: “There was no timescale attached to it. I went on to the website and it was a bit vague about what I need to do. I’ve been back on again since and I see all the hoops I have to jump through in order to be able to park here.

“From a business standpoint, it’s going to cost me a lot of money to bring my car here. I do use my car for businesses, I have a supplier in town I need to go – sometimes at the drop of a hat. They’re just trying to put me out of business as far as I’m concerned, inadvertently, they don’t realise it, because the problem with being on a high street is people think you survive on the shops and the houses in the area – you don’t, not when you’re my type of business. I have people from West Lothian, East Lothian who come to me for engraving and sharpening because there’s very few people doing it.”

Gorgie is one of several new CPZs across the capital, alongside Leith, Abbeyhill and other residential areas which the council says need controls to relieve parking pressures. However Mr MrBride said there was no need for the scheme, which he called “a money-making exercise”.

Local resident Susan, who lives on Wardlaw Street, said she also received “next to no notification”. She said: “I’ve been quoted £141 to park my car outside a street I’ve lived in for 22 years. The whole thing is an absolute disgusting disgrace, it’s shameful.”

She said the fact it would cost her £47 more to pay for a permit in quarterly instalments than in one payment made it a “discriminatory tax”. She added: “It’s a scam – and it’s on the poor. Everybody’s raging.”

Cllr McKenzie will urge the transport and environment committee on Thursday, October 12, to delay the CPZ start date until a further letter is sent out better informing “all residents and businesses”.

He said: “Controlled parking is coming to Gorgie, and there’s no stopping that now. But the council needs to reflect on this botched implementation and change the way we’re treating Gorgie residents. At the very least if we’re going to take people with us and change policy then we need to at the very least inform them that it’s happening and assist them to apply for, whether it be business permits or visitor permits”.

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