Renfrewshire councillor calls for parking charges to be scrapped in Paisley town centre
Real concerns about the future of Paisley town centre have been raised with calls to scrap 'anti-growth and anti-business' parking charges.
Renfrewshire Council implemented new charges for on and off-street parking in the town centre in February 2024 following several years of the Free at Three initiative. Introduced in 2021, the scheme offered visitors free parking for up to three hours in six town centre car parks.
Councillor Jamie McGuire is the latest to add his voice to a long-running campaign to reinstate the popular parking policy.
Explaining the current charge penalises those who want to 'shop local', councillor McGuire told the Paisley Daily Express: 'The council says it wants to support Paisley, but its actions say otherwise.
'Millions are being spent on projects like the museum to bring people in — yet parking charges are pushing them away. It's a policy contradiction that makes no sense.
'If we're serious about supporting our high streets, then scrapping these charges is a good place to start.'
The Renfrew North and Braehead representative – who recently defected to Reform UK – said while Paisley is not in his ward, he is concerned about the future of Scotland's biggest town.
He added: 'I'm genuinely worried about the future of Paisley town centre. Local businesses and workers have told me how damaging these charges are. It's not just shop owners seeing fewer customers — it's their staff being punished too, having to pay simply to park their car to go to work. 'And this shouldn't stop with Paisley. The council should rule out any future parking charges anywhere in Renfrewshire. Our communities need a pro-growth, pro-business approach.'
Paisley First, with the support of Neil Bibby MSP and Labour councillors, fought to retain Free for Three for the longer-term, arguing the evidence pointed to a boost for the local economy.
A survey, conducted by the town centre consortium, found that Free for Three was a huge draw for customers. More than 90 per cent of respondents said the initiative had encouraged them to visit Paisley more often.
Council leader Iain Nicolson refuted however claims the new parking approach was harming business, stating: 'Our car parking strategy is designed to ensure we can continue to provide a modernised parking service and help maximise the number of people able to visit local businesses and access town centre services and attractions.
'It was created after engagement with local business groups and has significantly increased the number of free parking spaces across the town to more than double previously available, with all 20 car parks and on-street parking bays in Paisley offering one hour of free parking to support people visiting businesses.'
Cllr Nicolson said the free parking allowed people to use the available spaces as a 'park and ride facility' for Paisley Gilmour Street Station and said the new approach ensured a turnover of spaces throughout the day.
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