An Inverness branch of the Bank of Scotland has had its knuckles rapped after installing five parking spaces on a public road for its own use.
The Longman branch painted the bays on double yellow lines on a side road adjacent to its premises on Harbour Road and put up signs declaring the spaces were exclusively for bank patrons.
Yesterday the bank had backed down however and the white painted bays had been covered with black paint after Highland Council declared the bays illegal.
They also wrote to the bank demanding the removal of the bays and warned that the police had been contacted and anyone found parking there could face prosecution.
The spaces in the Longman Industrial Estate appeared without any warning. The bank has its own car park in front of the building which is frequently full.
Five new bays were created with white lines painted on top of the double yellow lines at the side road which leads up to the Harbro Tore Mill depot.
Signs declaring: “Bank of Scotland Private Car Park. For Use of Bank Patrons Only,” were erected. A spokeswoman for Highland Council said: “The white road markings on the public adopted road U4023 outside the Bank of Scotland, in the Longman, Inverness branch leading to Tore Mill are illegal. There is an existing 24-hour prohibition of parking order on this road and double yellow lines. We have written to the bank to ask that they remove any private parking signs and the white lined parking bays with immediate effect and have notified the police of this matter as anyone parking in these bays will be in contravention of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and found doing so could be subject to prosecution.”
The Bank of Scotland did not return the Press and Journal’s phone calls yesterday.
A spokesman was earlier reported as saying: “Bank of Scotland recently added signs in the car park making it clear parking was for customer use only.
“At this time signs were incorrectly put up by the bays on the public roadway. We are urgently arranging their removal and will of course work closely with the council in order to rectify matters as quickly as possible.”