Tighter restrictions on town centre parking

Robert Barr, manager of Cumbernauld Shopping Centre, confirmed that as of December 21 there will once again be a four hour limit on parking in the car parks controlled by his company, which are on the centre rooftop and on the ground level near South Muirhead Road.

“We did not want to do this and have been trying to avoid it for the last six months to a year,” said Mr Barr.

However, he added, complaints from his tenant businesses that customers were aborting shopping trips due to difficulty finding parking spaces, especially during the pre-Christmas rush had forced him to one again introduce parking enforcement.

“The last time these limits were in place we had people knocking my office door because they had been charged £60,” Mr Barr added. “But now it is my tenants who are knocking my door, because their customers can’t get parked at the centre and are going elsewhere.”

Mr Barr claims this problem is a result of HMRC bosses not providing adequate parking space for staff at the nearby Cumbernauld tax office. “I don’t blame the ordinary tax centre workers who occupy our parking spaces from 8am until 6pm, it is their bosses – the government – that is failing to provide an alternative parking arrangement.

“It seems to be a common problem with HMRC, I have seen exactly the same parking issues with their centre in Norwich where public parking spaces are almost under armed guard as a result.”

The four hour limit will be in force as of December 21. Signage in the car parks will be changed to signal this.