MORE than £20,000 was paid at council car parks in Bute and Cowal between July and September, a report has revealed.
The total paid for parking in the administrative area during the 2024/25 financial year is also £7,000 above its target, while the number of parking tickets issued decreased from the previous three months.
That was despite a “substantial” increase in the number of parking tickets issued across Argyll and Bute, which is attributed to a traffic regulation order in Luss, at Loch Lomond.
The details are revealed in a report to go before the council’s Bute and Cowal area committee at its meeting on Tuesday, December 3.
The document states that the cumulative total for Bute and Cowal’s car parking income as of the end of September was £27,788. At the end of June, the figure stood at £7,755, meaning a total of £20,033 was paid over the following three months.
Commentary on the first three months of the financial year said that council officials were “unable to explain” the low figure.
On the following three months, the report said: “Despite the relatively poor summer weather, B&C Parking income has seen an increase in budget recovery.
“This may well be due to an increased presence by the local warden in Dunoon coupled with a possible rise in visitor numbers.”
The report also shows that cumulative parking income for Argyll and Bute at the end of September was £391,990 against a target of £373,922.
It said: “Events in Oban, the new TRO in Luss, as well as a full-time warden in Dunoon has most likely been the source of extra income coming through our parking areas.”
It is also reported that 195 parking tickets were given out in Bute and Cowal from July to September, as opposed to 251 during the previous three months.
The report said: “There has been a decrease in PCNs (penalty charge notices) issued for the Bute and Cowal area as the warden has been covering the Luss area in line with the new traffic regulation order.”
The figure for Argyll and Bute over the three months is reported as 2,302, compared to 1,763 from April to June.
The report added: “There is a substantial increase since last year’s financial quarter two, this is mainly due to the extra patrols in the Luss area on the back of the traffic regulation order being progressed and enforced as per the wishes of local Luss village residents.”
