A blitz on illegal parking in a Fife town has seen a staggering 800% rise in the number of fines issued.
New data from Fife Council show that 101 penalty charge notices were issued to drivers in Markinch in 2014/15, up from just 13 the previous year.
The dramatic increase follows a clampdown by parking officers in the community that means more offences were detected in Markinch with a population of around 2,500 than the whole of Glenrothes, which is home to more than 50,000 people.
Angela High, chairman of Markinch Community Council, said that parking problems, particularly around the train station, are a major cause for concern among residents.
“It comes up a lot at our meetings,” she told The Courier.
“It’s a problem that will only get worse if they introduce parking charges at the train station, as people will just park in surrounding streets.
“We’ve written to the Glenrothes area committee, asking that if they do go ahead could they introduce a residents’ parking scheme.
“One lady doesn’t go out in her car on a Saturday as she’s afraid she won’t be able to park close enough to her home when she gets back.”
Unlike other towns and villages in Fife, parking in Glenrothes and the surrounding area is largely free. Because of this, the scope for motorists to receive penalty notices is notably lower than elsewhere in the region.
Despite this, regular patrols are still carried out by officers, approximately twice a week and on a mixture of days and times.
While Mr Gourlay admits that the bulk of enforcement activity is concentrated in Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and St Andrews, officers will respond to specific parking problems if necessary.
Markinch has previously been identified as a hotspot, with 28 more penalty notices issued there in 2014/15 than for the whole of Glenrothes.
A report prepared by Ken Gourlay, Fife Council’s head of assets for transportation, said that the increase in penalty notices was improving matters for local people.
“Parking in streets adjacent to the station continues to be a problem,” he said.
“Current restrictions prohibit parking between 11.45am and 12.30pm, Monday to Friday, in order to deter commuters.
“Regular patrols in this area have resulted in a significant number of penalty charge notices being issued and compliance has improved.”