Council drops planned car parking charges for Tobermory
newsroom published this on 2:24 pm, Thursday, 25th March, 2010Community News| Local Government| Mull | Comments (rss) | Respond | Ping |
A public hearing was held yesterday by Argyll and Bute Council, following the lodging of a petition by almost 300 businesses and residents on the Isle of Mull, protesting against the proposed introduction of car parking charges in Tobermory.
The plan included a charge of 80p per 40 minutes for street parking in the town; and a charge for parking in the town’s Ledaig car park – which was itself created with help from Tobermory Harbour Association and is consequently seen as part owned by the community.
The arguments of the petitioners focused on the changed circumstances in Tobermory’s tourism sector.
During the run of the successive series aired of the BBC children’s drama, Balamory, based – obviously – on the bright pastels of the buildings around the bay in this most recognisably picturesque west coast town, Tobermory was all but perpetually besieged by parents bringing children to see the real Balamory and checkout Josie Jump’s house.
This was a boom time Mull enjoyed and turist-related businesses benefited.
But then the BBC decided not to continue the series and, slowly, the balloon lost height. Since then, the industry has returned to pre-Balamory levels. This means that there is now again a defined season where Balamory visitors came at all times of the year.
The Tobermory argument is that with business struggling at the moment, the addition of car parking charges is an additional expense for visitors and effectively a charge on residents themselves.
Following the public hearing, the Council has decided to drop the planned charges. There will be no charging for parking on Mull, either in the car park or on the street.
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March 25th, 2010 at 6:34 pm
I don’t know whoever wrote this unfinished, not particularly accurate, article but s/he/they obviously have either not done their research well, been ill-informed or being deliberately provocative; of course, given of the unpleasant of the articles about the Mull Rally, they might just hate the place.
The facts very simply are that the people of Tobermory, plus those that work or use the shops on Main Street regularly whether for themselves or on behalf of others or reside on Main Street, have been concerned that the Council were intending to charge on Main Street and Ledaig car park, leaving no free car parking whatsover on what is the village’s only shopping street. Tobermory does not have a large supermarket with free car parking for up to two hours; the alternative is to park on the narrow upper streets outside residences and walk down and, more importantly, up with heavy shopping and possibly with buggies, up very steep slopes.
When the proposals came out in November 2007 (I think), a group was formed and submissions were made to the Council, including the request for a proper traffic survey. To give the latter credit, they did agree to a few concessions, but the Council has persisted, culminating in yesterday’s decision.
It may well be that the Council will eventually get some parking revenue from Tobermory, but this must be based on actual, not subjective evidence. The Council are to be commended for erecting a sign at the bottom of Eas Brae directing visitors to Ledaig car park, the visitor centre and public toilets now the ones near the Aros Hall are shut. I understand this sign in itself has helped to re-direct long stay traffic from Main Street.
IMHO, think you should be commending the people of Tobermory and Mull for fighting to get a just hearing and to the Councillors for voting against the imposition of parking charges at this time. They have shown that a community can get a just hearing.
As to the Balamory references, Tobermory was well known for its’ coloured building well before the conception of that programme. It did bring good business and when those that purely were interested in the programme had been and gone it has left with some visitors a lasting legacy and brought them back, just as other BBC programmes have, such as the Spring- and AutumnWatch programmes and Gordon Buchanan’s “Eagle Island”. As to the visitor “season” perhaps you might like to contact VisitScotland and HolidayMull for a more comprehensive picture?
March 25th, 2010 at 11:06 pm
For Jade: Thank you for spotting the lack of a last sentence and a half on this article. We’ve been having a pretty torrid time over the past few days, dealing with the usual spectrum of unexpected consequences of having moved the entire site, archive and all, to a new host server.
Posts have been saved and published while we were writing them – among other strange cyber-poltergeist activities – and it looks as if this was one such incident.
We apologise for this and other erratic site behaviours. We hope we’ll have everything straightened out shortly and are as grateful for your tolerance as we are for the additional illumination your comment provides.
Of course Tobermory, in all its joyful glory, came long before Balamory and we don’t think (cyber-poltergeists permitting) that we’ve suggested anything else.
Anyone who types ‘Mull’ in the Search on this site will find a long sequence of stories on the island – and very particularly on its magnificent wildlife and the profile which that regularly brings to Mull through television documentaries and entertainment shows.
In fact, the fabulous RSPB blog, Mara and Breagha (Mulleagles) – has, for two years in a row, won the Best Wildlife Website award in the annual ForArgyll Awards, which are decided by online public voting.
It goes without saying that, as stout advocates of people power, we celebrate the way the folk of Tobermory and Mull have taken this matter in hand and got the result they needed.
March 27th, 2010 at 12:42 am
Very well done indeed to the brave folk of Tobermory.
When Inveraray was threatened with winter car parking charges the best the community could do was a handful of letters and now the town has winter car parking charges despite the community council having been promised that would never happen. The same happened when the NHS ring fenced funds for the new doctor surgery was pulled to pay for dentists in Campbeltown and Dunoon. A handful of letters again and the town looses its surgery. This demonstrates that when a community acts together politicians listen. Well deserved victory Tobermory even if it is short lived.
March 29th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
I am not opposed to peole power but there are more is more than one way of approaching the question of parking, particularly when the town layout was designed for a different age.
I live in mainland Argyll in the centre of a busy town and pay around £80 for the privilege of parking my car on specified streets close to my home. There is no guaranteed parking and often I see cars parked for a fortnight on “my streets” while tourists explore the western isles.I have no idea if the Council pursues visitors for unpaid parking but I susopect that it is not worth their time.
On the other hand charges mean that most people are discouraged from hogging the available parking. Business people in Tobermory might consider that they could get a better customer footprint if they themselves did not occupy the parking places close to their shops making it difficult if not impossible for visitors to park for short periods.
Inveraray will find that the revenue from their car parks will be used to improve local amenity