Pledge on Cumbernauld town centre parking not shared by mall

More than 150 students, employees of HMRC and centre users turned out to call for parking restrictions and charges to be scrapped outside the building.

There are concerns too many car owners are being penalised by three and four hour parking times when they have day-long commitments in the college and other workplaces. The guest speakers included representatives from Tesco and the owners of the older part of Cumbernauld Centre

All stated that they would be willing to work towards scrapping the restrictions not only as a goodwill gesture but as a means of further boosting custom to the businesses which surround the car park.

College principal Martin McGuire said: “We were so pleased at the attendance.

“All parties in attendance agreed that removing the parking restrictions in the affected car parks would improve life for businesses, students, staff and residents and I hope that all bodied controlling parking will recognise this and we can all work towards a positive solution.”

A Tesco spokesman said: “We know our car park is really popular and we want to do everything we can to make sure our customers always find a space.

“All the retailers in the town have a parking time limit and all retailers and stakeholders have a role in finding the right parking solutions for Cumbernauld.

“There is a three hour time limit in place to access the Tesco car park and we continue to monitor the impact of these measures.

However, the sticking point could lie here with the Antonine Centre – which did not sent a representative to the meeting. It would need to agree to the plan for the restrictions to be lifted.

Manageress Karen Blair said that she had been attending a funeral then insisted: “The Antonine Centre’s four hour parking has been in place for eight years with no complaints.”

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