Dangerous parking in Linlithgow will remain a priority

Top of the list for tickets is dangerous parking, followed by people abusing blue badge bays. Every other complaint about poor parking is attended to, when resources allow.

The explanation came at this month’s meeting of the town’s local area committee.

Councillor Tom Conn renewed his complaints about the lack of local detail in the police report, highlighting that points he’d made about bad parking at the entrance to the Vennel car park – the only charging car park in the town – hadn’t been addressed.

Community Sergeant Lee Brodie defended the ward report and said his community officers responded to specific issues raised.

Councillor Conn said: “At the last meeting I highlighted an example about cars parked on double yellow lines at the gable end of the building on the access to Vennel car park. That has continued. The police are still responsible for policing parking. I just wonder why no action has been taken, especially on the entrance to the car park.”

Sgt Brodie said all of his community team now had access to the town’s police office in the Partnership building, rather than just the two officers assigned to the town.

“We have been increasing our presence in the town based on that,” he said. “We have been looking at parking West Lothian wide but also relevant to Linlithgow.

“We can only react to what we are able to catch. The chief inspector did highlight at a recent scrutiny meeting that we do have another number of priorities.

“Parking in disabled bays and dangerous parking are our priorities. When it comes to parking we have limited availability and limited time to focus on any other issues with parking. If officers have the time they will deal with anything else.”

Councillor Sally Pattle, chairing the meeting, said: “From my perspective, working in the High Street, it is awful. Last September I think there was a day of action.

“For the week after that the High Street was clear. People were not triple parking outside Boots to go in to get their prescriptions. They were not double parked up Station Road. It really does work, so I don’t know if there are any similar plans for a day of action.”

Sgt Brodie said he would consider a sim ilar day of action but added: “I have to be honest it would need to be in context with other priorities.”

Issues were also raised about responses from police control rooms where people had been advised that the council had control of parking issues.

It was revealed that sometimes members of the public when they called 101 had probably spoken to control rooms outwith the area, such as in Motherwell or Bilston Glen in Midlothian where officers would be unclear that West Lothian has only just embarked in the process of assuming control of parking regulation.

Policing of parking will remain with Police Scotland for at least another three years within the county until the council is able to roll out a Decriminalised Parking Enforcement strategy.