Joshua King
Plans to ban cars from parking on narrow streets in one of the north-east’s most picturesque villages have been thrown out by councillors over fears tourism may suffer.
Aberdeenshire Council was reviewing public parking in the seaside village of Gardenstown and officers have proposed introducing waiting restriction on Harbour Road.
Bus operators say the current parking layout makes it difficult to manoeuvre vehicles. In the past buses and lorries have reversed at the end of the village’s Main Street but this has now been deemed unsafe.
The changes were put to members of the Banff and Buchan area committee when they met yesterday.
But despite a recommendation from council chiefs, local councillors voted against the majority of the proposed changes.
The only alteration which was agreed was to reduce the speed limit on Troup View to 20mph for safety reasons.
Banffshire councillor John Cox said: “The councillors approved the change in the speed limit but all the other recommendations were rejected.
“There are a number of concerns including the impact on tourism.”
In his report to the committee, local authority infrastructure boss Stephen Archer said a “number of requests” to review traffic in the fishing village had been received by the council.
They were submitted by bus operator Stagecoach as well as the council’s own waste management department, which raised concerns about the ability bin lorries to access the lower part of the village.
But the local community council said any ban on parking cars in the historic harbour area of Gardenstown would have an “adverse effect” on tourism – particularly during the busy summer months.
Tourism is one of Banffshire’s most profitable industries.
A council spokesman said the introduction of a 20mph limit on Troup would improve safety “for all road users while reducing the severity of any injuries”.
