Pavement parking ban to be enforced in Fife – when it starts and how much fines will be

Councillors have agreed to implement the legislation from September 1, but will begin with warning notices for the first two months to get drivers used to the new rules.

The Footway Parking Bill was passed in Scotland in December 2023, but it was left up to local authorities to decide how and when to enforce it.

Fife Council has now completed an assessment of its vast roads network and believes it is ready to proceed.

Parking attendants - and there are only 18 across Fife - are to be given full training, and local area committees will have the power to agree any exemptions for specific streets - so far 40 have been noted from a total of 12,500. Councillors wanted to identify all areas where the ban would not apply before adopting the regulations. They also pledged a common sense approach.

A report to this month’s cabinet committee said: “Enforcement will be undertaken in a balanced, proportionate and pragmatic way.

“Care will be taken to avoid generating new or intensifying any existing neighbourhood disputes. The expected first course of action for residential locations will be the ‘soft’ behavioural change approach. A balanced approach will be taken to any locations brought to our attention and consideration will be given as to the appropriate level of initial and ongoing action on a case-by-case basis while considering the resources available.”

Once fully implemented, fines of £100 will be issued to drivers parking on pavements. It will be cut to £50 if they pay up within 14 days, but if they miss the 28-day payment period then it will rise to £150.

There are exemptions - emergency or medical vehicles, and roadworks, postal services and waste collection services to name a few - and the council wants training to ensure that traffic wardens enforcement is “fair, accurate and consistent.”

John Mitchell, head of roads and transportation services, admitted it was “not an easy issue” - “no-one across Scotland has cracked it - and added: “We are aware of the sensitivities and difficulties surrounding pavement parking, but to do nothing until all exemptions went through committee would take quite some time. We are seeking powers, but introducing them sensitively.”

The council got £188,000 from the Scottish Government to fund its roads assessment, and has spent £101,000 of it already - leaving £80,000 for new signage and any lining of roads required.

Councillors welcomed the legislation, but raised concerns over how it would be implemented. Questions were raised over shared spaces which do not have kerbs or pavements, and also dropped kerbs in front of individual homes.

Councillor Kathleen Leslie (Burntisland, Kinghorn and Western Kirkcaldy), also raised how people’s expectations would be managed.

“Parking can cause a lot of problems between people on a street - how will that be managed?” she asked. “I am keen to see how the practical side of this is going to work on the ground. Will we be sending someone out every time a call comes in?”

Councillors agreed to the soft launch in September.