Blackness residents choose pub over traffic cones

Residents have shown huge support for their local pub.
Colm and Sheena O'Rourke asked villagers to take part in the vote.  Pic: Michael Gillen.Colm and Sheena O'Rourke asked villagers to take part in the vote.  Pic: Michael Gillen.
Colm and Sheena O'Rourke asked villagers to take part in the vote. Pic: Michael Gillen.

The owners of the Lobster Pot in The Square had asked locals to cast a vote last week to keep either the pub or the traffic cones on the road in and out of the village.

Colm and Sheena O’Rourke asked people to share their views as parking restrictions in the village combined with the current Covid-19 situation is making trading difficult for the pub which opened last summer after years lying empty.

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They said if the traffic cones currently on the brae remain they would have to close as people were turning away as they could not get parked.

The results returned on Saturday showed people were overwhelmingly in favour of keeping the pub open.

Of an estimated 82 people eligible to vote within the village, 65 returned their ballot in favour of the pub while only one chose to vote to keep the cones.

Colm (70) said: “We are really heartened by the result. It is so nice that people have voted the way they did.

“We have now written to Falkirk Council.

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“They previously said the cones were there at the villagers’ request but, in view of the result, we are asking if they could possibly lift the cones until they have their meeting on the proposed yellow lines.

“This might allow us to have a chance of getting through this Covid period.”

Parking has been an issue for years but things came to a head one sunny weekend recently when parked cars caused gridlock.

Temporary traffic cones were placed on the road in and out of the village and there is an ongoing consultation on yellow lines.