A Carse of Gowrie councillor was “horrified” to learn Perth and Kinross residents can now be fined for parking on pavements they own.
Since January 6, Perth and Kinross Council has been enforcing a pavement parking ban – and it extends to unadopted pavements.
Conservative councillor Angus Forbes has received “loads of complaints” from residents who own and pay to maintain the unadopted pavements and roads outside their homes.
Since the local authority began enforcing the new Scotland-wide parking legislation, Perth and Kinross parking attendants can now issue tickets to vehicles parked on pavements, pedestrian crossings, dropped kerbs or that are double parked. Fines are issued at the national level of £100 but reduced to £50 if paid within the first 14 days.
Graeme Currie was fined £50 last month for parking on the unadopted pavement – he had paid to fix – outside his home in a Kingoodie cul-de-sac. He had mounted the pavement in order to let the council’s bin lorry past.
Mr Currie said: “It was bin day. I put two wheels up on the pavement to allow easier access for the bin lorry. I was just doing it to help out the council to reverse their truck in.
“Now they just have to squeeze past it – so if they scrape it, they’ll be responsible for it.”
He added: “What really irks me was the way they did it. The two gentleman who ticketed me were sitting in their van. I gave them a wave.
“They watched us go into our house then did it. They could have spoken to us. It’s just all about getting money.”
He added: “It’s my pavement! There are no access problems. There was still room on the pavement to let a wheelchair through.”
Tanya Murray lives just round the corner. Her family is now squeezing two cars into their driveway – which is mono-blocked to the kerb – to avoid a fine.
She said: “The road and pavement outside our property is actually private and owned by ourselves plus 10 other properties, for access. In the 18 years we have lived here, there has never been any issues with vehicular or pedestrian access past our vehicles that have been parked on the driveway and the pavement outside our house.
“The pavement is actually included in our deeds, therefore we own this; it is classed as private land and therefore I maintain this. Our driveway is mono-blocked to the kerb. We are now being threatened with fines and if we park on our pavement or a wheel sticking out on the mono-block of our driveway. We are now squashing two cars as far in as possible to prevent a fine.”
Should her husband be forced to park his work van on a different street, it would impact their insurance. They also have blue badge holders in the house – who are not exempt from fines.
Tanya said: “We were spoken to by one particular gentleman, due to my husband’s works van being parked on the pavement and he advised us he would be coming back to follow through once this law was fully in force. If we put our vehicles outside of our street a number of problems then arise – insurance premiums will go up and we will have to park further from our house. The CCTV we have would then not be protecting our vehicles. We have blue badge holders in the house and we did not get these lightly. As you know, they are to help park closer to wherever you are going to help with walking difficulties.”
Carse of Gowrie councillor Angus Forbes is “horrified”. The Conservative elected member believes overgrown hedges cause far more of an obstruction to pavements than cars. He wants to see councils given the powers to enforce all pavement blockages on publicly-owned pavements but allow people – who own and maintain their own pavements – to park there.
Cllr Forbes said: “I was quite horrified to learn that the pavement parking act extends to unadopted private roads where the local residents pay for the upkeep and maintenance of the pavements but are then prevented from parking on them.
“I appreciate that in this case, the council has an obligation to enforce the legislation and they did run two months of dummy enforcement to get people used to the idea. However, this is really bad legislation, I would certainly feel aggrieved if I had paid for the repair of my own pavement to then get a ticket for parking on it, as is the case with Mr Currie.
“The idea to keep pavements free for disabled people is a valid proposal but I would argue that far more pavements are blocked by overgrown hedges which are there permanently rather than cars. The council cannot enforce this sort of obstruction.
“I would suggest the Scottish Government look again at this law, remove the penalty for parking on private pavements and then give councils the powers to enforce any blockage of a pavement rather than just cars.”
Perth and Kinross Council has issued 310 fines since it began enforcing the scheme this year.
A PKC spokesperson said: “Pavement parking is unsafe, particularly for pedestrians who may have mobility issues or visual impairments as well as for parents and carers who may be using pushchairs.
“The restrictions apply on unadopted roads and to Blue Badge holders as well.
“Since January 6, 2025, 310 penalty charge notices have been issued as part of our efforts to enhance pedestrian safety.
“We would like to extend our thanks to residents who continue to park safely, legally, and fairly.”