Residents of a housing estate on the edge of one of Scotland's low emission zones (LEZs) say their neighbourhood has been turned into “a free car park” because of the scheme. Homeowners in Sighthill in Glasgow told the BBC that motorists are avoiding the city's LEZ and high parking charges by leaving their vehicles on the estate. The new estate includes a pedestrian and cycle bridge spanning the M8 and allows easy access to the city centre - while crucially remaining just outside Glasgow's LEZ.
Local resident Peter Collins told BBC Scotland: “The council say they're aware of the issues, but they created the problem by not putting in any parking restrictions," The estate, called Northbridge, is part of a £250 million regeneration scheme designed to improve Sighthill. It is funded by both the UK and Scottish governments via the Glasgow Region City Deal. The bridge linking the estate and the city centre across the M8 was first opened last year.
However, Mr Collins said anti-social behaviour had been a constant feature on the estate since he moved there in 2022, and now the neighbourhood was being used as a car park by city centre workers. "There were about 50 big vans around our three streets last week," he said. "The council told us they couldn't afford to do parking, but this is supposed to be the biggest investment in a development of its kind outside of London.
“Police say parking is a council issue and then the council say they don't have the resources. There are zero parking restrictions and the council say it is a priority area since its right by the LEZ, but in the meantime people are using it as a free car park for the city centre. "They park on the drop kerbs and on the pavements, which is illegal, and I've fallen twice because of it.
My dog's nearly been knocked down twice because you're always coming out between cars and you can't see what's coming.” Glasgow City Council has now said it is considering introducing parking control measures on the estate. A council spokesperson said: “We are currently considering parking control measures to protect residents in Sighthill from people coming into the area to park in this way.
If driveways, etc, are being blocked, residents should contact Police Scotland.” Another resident, Angela, told the BBC she was frequently woken up by commuters parking on her street. “I’ve seen people park here, get their suitcases out and head to the city centre and then they don’t come back for several days, so I’m assuming they went off on holiday," she said.
"There’s still work waiting to be done on the other side of the development and I’ve got no idea how they’re going to get big vehicles down the street.”.
