Fife commuters urged to object to park and ride charges plan

The call comes from Conservative councillors opposed to the move.

Fife Council wants to charge £1 to park per day, but the opposition group insists it is penalising commuters for doing exactly what the local authority wanted them to do, and use the two facilities near the main motorway link.

Councillor, Dave Dempsey the Tories’ Council Group leader, said: “The Council can’t just start charging.

It requires a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) which are open to objectors. The TRO is out now. It says it is being promoted ‘in the interests of car park management’, which is Councilspeak for ‘so we can penalise motorists for doing what we’ve asked them to do’.

The deadline for objecting is May 10 – and Cllr Dempsey says any comments simply can’t be put in a drawer and forgotten about.

He added: “Because TROs are governed by an Act of Parliament, the Council can’t just file objections in a pile marked ‘ignore’.

‘‘Objectors must be individually written to explaining why their objection is ‘unsound’ and inviting them to withdraw it. Those who don’t have their objections presented to a council committee which then decides whether to proceed with the TRO or not.

“While most TROs attract just a handful of objections, it’s been known for that to be enough to change minds.

‘‘If enough of the public make their feelings felt, we’ll be able to test whether a committee would have the nerve to overrule a hundred or even a thousand objectors – or whether those Labour and SNP members who are unhappy about charging would be brave enough to vote the way they feel.’’