Almost £30,000 in fines for pavement parking issued by Highland Council across Inverness, Dingwall, Thurso, Wick, Nairn and other areas
Fines for pavement parking have hit almost £30,000 across the Highland Council area over the past year.
According to figures published by the local authority itself it has received £29,600 in payments of parking charge notices issued by its officers across the region between February and September this year.
With three months of figures still to be released that total seems likely to rise by the end of the year.
The collected figure compares to the £46,450 total in in charge notices actually issued, with £5350 recorded as having been cancelled or otherwise written off.
The Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 bans pavement parking, double parking and parking at dropped kerbs across the country, with certain exemptions designated by local authorities - for example to ensure safe access for emergency vehicles.
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Councils have been able to enforce the law since December 11 last year meaning drivers can be fined £100 for flouting the ban; reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days.
At the time Scotland’s Transport Minister, Fiona Hyslop branded pavement parking unsafe and unfair and said: “This change in legislation is a step towards developing communities that are better able to support active travel, building on the work that is already under way to reduce emissions and helping us meet our world-leading climate change targets.”
Highland Council did not begin issuing fines for pavement parking, double parking or parking by dropped kerbs until February of this year, with figures at least suggesting the message that such behaviour will be targeted has gradually begun to sink in with drivers, warning notices having been issued to offenders since December 2023.
Chairman of the council’s economy and infrastructure committee, Councillor Ken Gowans, said: “Many people face daily difficulties with pavement parking. It is dangerous and frustrating, especially for those with impairments or limited mobility. It can force people to take unnecessary risks.
"For example, people using wheelchairs and buggies or prams without access to dropped kerbs can be forced onto the road, risking their safety.”
In Inverness a total of 78 penalty charge notices were issued in each of the first two months of enforcement.
However this dropped to 35 in April then 20 in May before rising slightly in June (27) then showing some variation but still remaining low, with 21 issued in July, 15 in August and 19 in September.
Of course the other explanation could be that wardens are turning a blind eye to some breaches or that they are targeting some areas and not others for enforcement at any given time. No evidence is provided either way alongside the figures to give real insight, and figures for other parts of the region are generally low compared to the obviously much busier Highland capital.
In Wick the largest numbers of notices issued on a monthly basis were in June and July, with nine each, against a low of just one in May. Two each were issued in February, March and April and then eight in September.
In Thurso the highest monthly total came in March (8) with just one in May; two each in February and June; three each in April and August and six each in July and September.
Dingwall’s highest monthly total came in April, with 15, against zero issued in July. Seven were issued in August ; four in May; three in September; and two each in February, March and June.
Monthly figures for Nairn have sat regularly at either one or two apart from February when four penalty notices were issued. Across the whole of the summer period of June, July and August no drivers at all were fined in Nairn.
Across the board since a decriminalised parking regime was issued in the Highlands in October 2016 - allowing the council to enforce parking regulations on its own behalf - 100,402 penalty charge notices have been issued, with £3,391,825 taken in from ticketed drivers.
