AN appeal has been made to restrict parking outside Rothesay Police Station to allow it to be used by emergency service vehicles.
Jean Moffat, convener of Bute Community Council, said that police had applied to Argyll and Bute Council for a traffic regulation order.
But officers from the authority responded that it could not be supported, with Ms Moffat asking councillors if there was anything that could be done to reverse the decision.
The discussion took place at a meeting of the council’s Bute and Cowal area committee on Tuesday, September 2.
Ms Moffat said: “The police station badly needed work, and they have put the time in and spent a lot of money, which restores our faith in having police presence on the island. It is needed.
“They had to work together with emergency services. If they do a full project with them, they need to accommodate ambulances etc at the front of the building in Rothesay.
“There is a large parking area, and the police are seeking to have granted to them permission to keep it exclusively for them and other emergency services.
“They have applied for a traffic regulation order, and I presume they have gone to planning, but the authority has not supported it.
“They have been told it would set a precedent. I am not sure what that precedent would be, but it is a huge opportunity missed. Is there anything we can do to help them secure that area?”
Councillor Gordon Blair (SNP, Cowal), the area committee’s chair, responded: “We recently had a seminar, and there was representation from the emergency services at the recent community services committee meeting.
“There may well be a good reason why this would not be appropriate, because of the constraints on the public purse, and to keep it as an area for council control. But partnership working is something we pride ourselves on in
