A community council has requested that reports relating to the controversial installation of parking bays in a Wishaw street be made available for scrutiny.
Lanarkshire Live recently revealed that work was underway to install new bays at Newark Drive in the Coltness area.
John Carr, the chairman of Coltness community council who lives in the street labelled the decision a “waste of money” and that the work would have been more appropriate in other streets nearby.
He highlighted streets in the vicinity which do have issues with parking and where additional spaces are needed. Streets such as North Dryburgh Road and Lauder Crescent. which the community council has been pushing the local authority for some time to have extra car parking spaces installed.
And despite making enquiries into who within the local authority sanctioned the work and why, John claimed he was getting nowhere. Having spoken to many of the residents of Newark Drive he claims they are in agreement that the work was unnecessary as there are no issues with parking.
A senior member of council housing staff contacted John last week but he says he has been left baffled by their explanation for the installation and Coltness community council has now lodged a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.
“The individual who wasn’t able to give me a reason for the work when I contacted them before has now told me that one resident in the street requested the extra bays,” said John. “I asked how that worked, given that we’ve been fighting for years to try and get them installed in North Dryburgh Road.
"So, one resident can phone up and get this done and the community council can’t. I asked about the reports relating to the work from council officers but they said they can’t give me them.”
Having spoken to a number of residents living in the vicinity of the new bays John believes the catalyst for the request for the work may have been the result of young children playing in the street.
He continued: “I found out there was an issue with kids playing football on the grassed area in Newark Drive, so I have to ask are the [parking] spaces there to stop kids from playing football?
“I would hope that isn’t the case. It’s a lot of money to stop kids playing, after all they have been through during the pandemic. For their mental health and wellbeing it’s nice to see them out playing – like kids should be.
“Apart from this issue we’ve had a great relationship with North Lanarkshire Council and hope this continues in future.
“We want them to provide answers on this though and we’d like to see the reports as there is no need for these bays, because the street is that quiet.”
A council spokesperson said: “A number of streets in Coltness were identified as possible locations for additional parking spaces, to meet demand from local residents.
"Following consultation with tenants in surrounding homes, additional spaces are being created at Newark Drive as well as the spaces already created in Maxton Crescent and North Dryburgh Road.”
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