Five out of six North Ayrshire parking wardens quit in first months of new scheme
The council say one retired and one didn't like working outside
Five out of six North Ayrshire parking enforcement officers have left or handed in their notice within the first six months of the role.
A question posed to the SNP administration by independent councillor Ian Murdoch revealed all but one of the local authority’s new wardens have quit or are in the process of leaving.
North Ayrshire Council introduced controversial parking measures in March this year, under a regime of Decriminalised Parking Enforcement, which saw the power to enforce parking infringements pass from Police Scotland to the council,
These included one-hour parking limits on designated streets and the total ban on pavement parking.
But despite councillors hailing the scheme as a success in reducing problem parking and bringing in much-needed funds to the public purse, news that they now must recruit new Parking Enforcement Officers (PEO) has raised causes for concern.
Speaking to Clyde 1 Ayrshire after the meeting, Councillor Murdoch said: “I don’t think five out of the six should be leaving within six months of the service starting.
I don’t see how that is a sensible position to be in.”
The Largs councillor explained how complaints he had heard included a lack of facilities for the PEOs to stay dry or keep warm, or even to have some lunch.
“I am getting feedback that there are poor facilities,” Cllr Murdoch continued.
“They should have an adequate place of refuge, somewhere to go and get dried, have something to eat, and take a break.
“I appreciate there isn’t one dedicated building as such, but there are libraries, there are schools, there are council buildings dotted about every town.”
The SNP’s Councillor Tony Gurney assured a full council meeting last week that all PEOs were given a list of dedicated places they could use while working.
And he explained three of those employees who had left the roles had reasons to, including one retiring, one going back to university and one simply because they didn’t like working outside.
A North Ayrshire Council spokesperson added: “The Parking Enforcement Officers are part of a new team which was only introduced this year and we are optimising how to best deliver the service.
“We are pleased with the positive impact the team has made so far and will continue to monitor and adapt the service to ensure it continues to work well while also ensuring that all staff members are supported in their wellbeing.
“We conduct regular one-to-one meetings with staff and act on any feedback we receive. We also conducted ‘leavers’ meetings when enforcement officers left their employment and working conditions wasn’t raised as an issue.
“As our Chief Executive indicated at the Full Council meeting, we are keen to have discussions regarding any concerns about the delivery of the service and the wellbeing of colleagues.”