Plans for West Lothian Council to have its own traffic wardens pounding the streets - Daily Record

It will be 2028 - and a new council administration - before the council takes control of parking enforcement to end the current “free-for-all” faced in towns and villages .

West Lothian Council could have its own traffic wardens pounding the streets in two years.

It will be 2028 - and a new council administration - before the council takes control of parking enforcement to end the current “free-for-all” faced in towns and villages .

Councillors on the Executive this week welcomed the decision to change the rules, arguing it can’t come quickly enough.

And Tory group leader Damian Doran-Timson urged parking controls be contracted out rather than run by the council- saying it would be much more cost-effective than running it in house.

The SNP group had first called for change in 2019 and claimed the Labour administration had ignored the issue.

Plans to take on control of parking- known as Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) - were agreed at the start of last year. Roads and transport officers have now prepared the basis of taking the scheme forward to go to the Scottish Government to seek legal permission.

A report will be presented to the Environment and Sustainability PDSP later this year setting out the lengthy legal process required for the council to be granted powers by Scottish Ministers to enforce parking and pavement parking.

The report will also include a draft business case that will be presented to Council Executive for approval, prior to submission to Scottish Ministers.

Both Conservatives and the Lib Dem councillor questioned why the council was considering only in-house management. Contracting- out parking enforcement could be a more cost effective way of running the scheme rather than hiring staff and wardens to police parking.

It was stressed that officers would consider all proposals as the plans are developed.

Councillor Sally Pattle, Lib Dem, told the meeting: “Please. Is there any way we can expedite this process, it is in the top three issues that come up in my ward on a weekly basis is illegal parking.

“Local police are doing above and beyond their resources in Linlithgow. We have an opportunity here to take matters into our own hands and create a parking enforcement system that works for Linlithgow and all of West Lothian.”

“I had hoped we would be much farther down the road by this stage and it will be a huge disappointment that we are now saying the DPE is not going to come in within this administration.”

Councillor Janet Campbell, SNP group leader said: “I want to express my thanks to Gordon [ Brown, the roads network manager] and the team who have pulled this together. I welcome this immensely.

“The SNP group has introduced this topic repeatedly at PDSP and budget meetings for the last seven or eight years. It has been declined for purely ideological reasons. Better late than never.”

Councillor Pauline Stafford, deputy SNP group leader said: “I don’t really understand why this hasn’t been a priority for this administration.”

Councillor Doran-Timson warned his party would not support parking charges at railway stations. Fellow Conservative Angela Doran-Timson also said that there should be no charges at sports centres.

Damian Doran-Timson said he was keen to see all options for the scheme were brought forward so that : “all councillors are fully aware of the realistic challenges that we face by delivering it in-house and the costs that would be incurred”, compared to having it managed by a third party.

Councillor Pauline Orr, for the SNP, pointed out that 23 of the 31 other other Scottish councils now operate DPE and generate income from it.

Executive councillor for the environment and sustainability, Labour’s Tom Conn said: “I welcome this important step forward in the process to introduce decriminalised parking in West Lothian.

“The legal process required by Scottish Ministers is expected to take around two years to complete, with details on exactly how the scheme will operate in West Lothian to be agreed during this time.”

Currently only Police Scotland can enforce parking, waiting and loading restrictions on the public road network in West Lothian. The council previously employed dedicated parking wardens to carry this role out until 2014.

Decriminalised Parking Enforcement transfers the responsibility for enforcing parking regulations from the police to local authorities. The decriminalised element is that illegal parking is no longer a criminal “offence” to be dealt with by the police.

This is expected to reduce illegal parking and congestion, improve traffic flow and compliance such as blue badges, and improve road safety in West Lothian.

Another report will also be presented to the Environment and Sustainability PDSP in 2026, setting out proposals to enforce Pavement Parking legislation in West Lothian.

Preventing pavement parking will enhance safety and accessibility for all road and footpath users, particularly vulnerable groups such as those with mobility issues and parents with pushchairs.

While there are additional costs incurred when setting up and staffing these new processes - it is expected to generate a small surplus, which would be re-invested to improve transport infrastructure in West Lothian.

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