Council agrees changes to parking service
East Ayrshire Council has agreed a number of changes to the way it delivers its parking service following a wide-ranging review which looked into Ayrshire Roads Alliance’s parking enforcement and support services, as well as parking tariffs within Kilmarnock.
Like many public bodies, Ayrshire Roads Alliance is facing increasing financial, statutory and operational pressures which are having an impact on the way the current parking service is delivered. Due to a changing parking landscape, the service is experiencing external pressures such as pavement parking enforcement; a growing events calendar including football matches, concerts and festivals; an increased need for evening patrols; new and expanded residents’ permit zones, and continued budget pressures which require efficiency savings.
Continuing with the existing model is therefore not sustainable in the medium to long-term and change is required to allow the service to meet future demand, performance expectations and financial sustainability requirements.
The East Ayrshire Parking Service was set up in 2012 when adopting Decriminalised Parking Enforcement which enables a local authority to enforce its own parking policies, including the issuing of Penalty Charge Notices to motorists breaching parking controls in specified areas. While the support service function has fully integrated, the front-line enforcement teams are still effectively operating as standalone services, with each team operating from separate bases and only undertaking enforcement duties within their respective council areas.
A new operating model will therefore now be put in place which will involve a public/private sector partnership approach. This will allow significant savings to be made through scalability of the service, and it will provide increased flexibility and enhanced resources for general enforcement activities as well as enforcement at special events.
It was also agreed that parking enforcement resources will be deployed on a fair, transparent and intelligence-led basis to make sure there is equitable coverage across towns, villages and rural communities.
A new charging framework was also agreed at the Council meeting which will be put in place for on and off-street parking locations within Kilmarnock. This will allow for initial free parking sessions of 30 minutes on-street and 2 hours off-street. Four car parks will be excluded from these new arrangements - London Road, Titchfield Street, Morton Place and Sturrock Street East, where parking is already at a discounted rate of £2 per day (£1.50 for 4 hours).
During the parking service review, all available parking options were considered, taking into account the fact that there are significantly more parking bays available off-street in comparison with those on-street. The new arrangements have been agreed in order to stimulate town centre regeneration and to provide greater accessibility and turnover of spaces.
Any impacts from the new charging framework will be monitored to establish the economic benefits over a 12-month period, and a report will then be brought back to Council for further consideration.
Councillor Jim McMahon, Cabinet Spokesperson for Housing, Transport and Communities, said: “The changes being made to the parking service reflect the financial pressures we currently face and the need to deliver services differently to help sustain service delivery across the Council. The decisions that have been made are based on a full and thorough review of the parking service during which ARA looked at the need for the service and why we provide it; consulted with staff and stakeholders; compared our performance against others; and considered all available alternative options for the delivery of the service.
“The new charging framework for Kilmarnock aligns with feedback we’ve received from communities and retail providers who want to make it easier for people to park during shorter visits to the town centre, and it directly supports our economic and regeneration goals within the town.
“And in terms of engaging in a public/private partnership for parking enforcement, we believe that this will bring greater expertise, efficiency and financial resilience to the parking service, helping us to safeguard its long-term future and ensure it continues to support residents, businesses and visitors to East and South Ayrshire.”
The decision taken includes applying the proposed new parking enforcement operating model through the adoption of a partnership approach through the City of Edinburgh/Marston Ltd contract in both East and South Ayrshire, subject to an affirmative decision by South Ayrshire Council that they want to see this approach in their area.
A report will be taken to South Ayrshire Council on 26 March 2026 seeking approval to proceed on this basis in their own area. In the event that South Ayrshire Council opts to retain the existing arrangements, East Ayrshire Council will proceed alone.