Hundreds of people sign petition against Castle Douglas parking charges

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Hundreds of people have voiced their opposition to the introduction of parking charges in Castle Douglas. The council is consulting on a regional parking strategy, which could open the door to people having to pay to park on King Street.

Two “community conversations” were held in the town last week, after which campaigner Tammie Kirk set up a petition against paid parking.

She said: “We’ve started it just to try to get Castle Douglas’ voice heard. They said at the meeting there was the possibility if it went through each town could be treated individually but there was no commitment. “It’s something we’re doing to give us a bit of a protection and an argument if it goes through. “It’s definitely gathering momentum – it’s heartbreaking talking to shopowners who say if this goes ahead they’ll have to shut. “Both meetings were completely full houses and it was abundantly clear what the town wanted and did not want. “There’s a lot of concern amongst the town.

A lot of business owners are really, really worried this is going to be the end of them if people are going to have to start paying to park on King Street. “There’s a lot of confusion as to why the council is trying to go ahead with it when the figures across Scotland aren’t great.” More than 600 people have so far signed the online petition, which is available at www.change.org/p/stop-parking-charges-being-introduced-to-castle-douglas.