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New parking charges will apply in Moray Council’s car parks in Elgin from this Wednesday, 23 May.
While motorists may welcome reduced charges in some of the car parks, there will be pain for some as charges increases in other places. Most controversial will be the introduction of charges in Cooper Park and the Railway Station car parks.
Twenty-five new ticket machines are being installed in five of the car parks, including Cooper Park, to allow drivers to pay for car parking by cash, contactless, credit or debit card, introducing flexible ways to pay to make parking in Elgin simpler, quicker and secure.
The purchase and installation of the new machines is being funded through developer obligations, money, which the council receives from housing developers to improve local infrastructure and services.
Cllr John Cowe, Chair of Moray Council’s Economic Development & Infrastructure Committee, said the machines were just one of the improvements being made to parking in Elgin.
“These new machines will make life much easier for those parking in Elgin. There will be no need for drivers to carry cash or fumble with change. Those who wish to pay with coins can continue to do so, while others can benefit from secure electronic payments.
“Also from 23 May the cost of parking for up to 30 minutes will be halved to 50p at some sites including Northport and Northfield Terrace. And, while we’re asking those who park at sites like Moray Street, or the top two levels of St Giles, to pay a bit more, we’ve slashed the cost of all-day parking to just £1 at Batchen Lane multi-storey, a central car park which can accommodate more than 200 cars.”
Cllr Cowe, said the changes would make for a more even distribution of parking across Elgin, as well as raise £79,000 additional income.
“There are thousands of car parking spaces available in Elgin, both on and off street. We, like many other local authorities in Scotland, review our charges to make sure we can afford to continue operating the dozens of car parks we are responsible for.
“Introducing ticket machines which allow users to pay by card or cash will make life easier for many, and those who flout our parking regulations will face tougher penalties.”
Income raised from the car parks is used to covers the costs of operating council-owned car parks across Moray, including maintenance, supervision and the enforcement of waiting restrictions, with surplus income shared with trusts who own car park land.
Details of all costs will be displayed on ticket machines and on Moray Council’s website.