North Lanarkshire Council introduces parking charges
It's after a study revealed it would have a positive impact.
Last updated 11th Feb 2020
North Lanarkshire Council is set to introduce car parking charges in seven of the local town centres.
Airdrie, Bellshill, Coatbridge, Cumbernauld, Kilsyth, Motherwell and Wishaw will all be affected.
It means parking for one hour will now cost 80p, going up to £4 for 5 hours.
It's thought to be costing around £1.1 million, making a net income of around £407,000 a year afterwards.
A council spokesperson said:
"A comprehensive feasibility study was carried out to inform decisions on introducing charges in council-owned, public car parks in North Lanarkshire.
"This study included surveys of the current usage of town centre car parks, evaluation of charging schemes in other local authorities, and the impact of drivers parking elsewhere in the streets around car parks. It also assessed the costs of introducing and running a charging scheme and the potential income to the council.
"The outcome of the study indicates there is a positive case for introducing charging in seven town centres: Airdrie, Bellshill, Coatbridge, Cumbernauld, Kilsyth, Motherwell and Wishaw.
"The Policy and Strategy Committee on 31 January agreed the recommendation to progress proposals to introduce off street car parking in seven towns."
Correction:
We previously used a picture of Motherwell Shopping Centre car park in this article. This was a mistake as Motherwell Shopping Centre has no plans to charge for parking and will continue to offer free parking for a maximum stay of 3 hours.
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