Clarkston car park spaces in high demand

Spaces near Clarkston’s main street are in high demand following last year’s handover of parking restrictions from police to East Renfrewshire Council — prompting complaints and a resulting review.

Councillor Ralph Robertson has reported to Clarkston BID (Business Improvement District) that residents are unhappy with Clyde Property parking nine branded cars overnight and at weekends.

He told The Extra: “During the review of parking in Clarkston, it was thought about putting a time limit on the car park but it was decided to wait to see what happened once on-street restrictions changed.

“However, if this continues the council may be forced to rethink that sooner rather than later, which then slows down work on another area’s review.

“We all want the shops at Clarkston to do well but if customers can’t get parked then they will go to other areas to shop.”

Rosalind McCulley, financial director at Clyde Property, responded that the company has had no contact from the BID or from local councillors.

She continued: “I would like to apologise if the parking of our pool cars caused inconvenience to residents.

“I spoke to two community safety officers who confirmed that it was okay for us to park.

“Due to HMRC rules these cars cannot be taken home — they are out on appointments during day time hours and so we did not think that the parking of these would impact negatively.”

She added: “Our Clarkston area manager has been trying to contact councillor Robertson to find a solution.”