Pavement parking ban helps Prestwick store overturn council decision
The new ban on pavement parking in South Ayrshire has resulted in an unanticipated change of heart from councillors.
Last year, South Ayrshire Council's Local Review Body approved a plan for a Prestwick store to introduce a hot food takeaway to its premises.
The application for the Keystore in Adamton Road had originally been refused by planners, with the issue of traffic and increased usage of the shop among the reasons given.
That was overturned on the condition, recommended by Ayrshire Roads Alliance, that the shop owners agreed mitigation measures to prevent pavement parking, including the installation of bollards.
However, that promise was never met and the owners took the decision to appeal the outcome of the appeal.
Part of their argument for removing the condition around parking was the introduction of the pavement parking ban and the irony that mitigations, such as bollards, would narrow the pavement, causing access issues to the public, particularly wheelchair users and the visually impaired – one of the reasons for bringing in the ban in the first place.
Planning officer James Hall told the Local Review Body that the owners had pointed out that the hot food element only made up five per cent of the goods sold, there was little community objection or evidence of problems, and that it would impact accessibility to a neighbouring hairdresser.
They also said that they felt the cost of implementing mitigation measures, such as bollards, would be too high for them and that the requirement could become a precedent for other small retailers.
Some councillors took the issue of the pavement parking ban one step further, questioning why, having introduced a ban, the council would be putting the onus on a business to deter the practice.
Conservative councillor Martin Kilbride said: 'I do understand a year ago why there was talk of bollards, because it was to make sure that the cars weren't parking on the footpath, to allow access for pedestrians to safely get from A to B.
'We've now got a pavement parking ban in place.'
He said there was evidence that the ban was being adhered to, putting a further question to the need for the condition.
'So, the pavement parking ban has worked. The reason for the bollards was to keep the footpath open for people in wheelchairs and with disabilities.'
He was backed by Conservative colleague Lee Lyons, who said: 'What we are effectively doing is taking an already narrow path and making it narrower to prevent someone potentially parking on the pavement, when we have just brought in a new pavement parking ban.
'So we are effectively got a policy that you can't park on the pavement, but we are asking someone to put in bollards to basically enforce a law.
'I don't see why we're doing both. Either the law in itself is sufficient and should be policed or it's not and we have to build a fence by the side of the road.'
He called on the committee to approve the request to scrap the condition as a result.
Other councillors took issue with the fact that Ayrshire Roads Alliance had maintained their stance despite the change in the law, did not attend Tuesday's hearing to answer councillors' questions and had simply not answered when asked for comment ahead of the meeting.
Councillor Mark Dixon wanted to defer a decision in order to get answers from ARA, after the summer recess and was backed by Labour member Ian Cavana.
The motion to approve the request to remove the condition was agreed by three votes to two.
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