Residents to step up fight over parking fees plan

RESIDENTS of a village on the banks of Loch Lomond are to hold a public meeting to discuss controversial plans to charge residents for parking.

A row is continuing between residents of Luss, which attracts thousands of visitors every year, and Argyll and Bute Council over how to manage parking in the village.

The council has started a formal three-week consultation period over the plans to alleviate traffic issues.

Members of Luss and Arden Community Council will be holding a public meeting on Thursday in Luss Village Hall to outline the community’s objections and express their wishes for an alternative solution.

Luss attracts more than 750,000 tourists each year and the community has already expressed objections to the parking charge scheme.

David Pretswell, of Luss and Arden Community Council, said: “The community council makes clear that it fully supports Luss’ role as a tourist attraction, but wishes to see tourists’ cars removed from the heart of the village for the safety and benefit of residents and visitors alike.

“So bad are the council proposals that, in conjunction with Luss Estates Company, we have had an independent traffic consultant review the problem.

“We have lost all faith in the council to listen to local views, and consider its current efforts to be wholly inappropriate and damaging.”

The alternative plan proposed by the community council includes a larger 20mph zone, providing additional parking on the village fringe, excluding visitors’ cars from the centre of the village, resident-only free parking within the village, and new street layouts.