A councillor has spoken of the “frustration” surrounding parking fines as the wait goes on for a much-needed extension at Leuchars Railway Station’s car park.
In just 12 months 420 parking fines have been issued to motorists at Leuchars, netting the council around £13,000.
Some drive from as far afield as Dundee and Angus to park for free at the station, leaving commuters struggling to find spaces for their cars before boarding trains.
Others use Leuchars railway station as a ‘park and ride’ for St Andrews.
Tay Bridgehead Liberal Democrat councillor Tim Brett said it was frustrating the situation continued 16 months after Fife councillors made the decision to commit funding to the project.
Speaking at Fife Council’s Executive Committee he said the car park at the station is regularly full from very early in the morning until late in the afternoon.
He said: “Anyone who knows Leuchars Railway Station will know there’s really nowhere else to park. You can park up Station Road but that’s now absolutely chocca-block.
“People are turning up, desperate to get their train. And then we fine them because there are not enough spaces for them.
“It’s also frustrating it took Network Rail until February this year to get their commitment to funding. I don’t want to be pessimistic but council offices tell me there could be a further two-year delay.”
Rosyth Labour councillor Pat Callaghan, who is the council’s transportation spokesperson, said the £605,000 project was now fully funded.
He said the council was “ready to close a deal” with the landowner. This might take some time but hopefully not two years, he said.
He said: “It’s unusual to have a fully funded project and not be able to pull the trigger.”
SNP Cupar councillor Karen Marjoram said it was good to have people using public transport. But she noted many people used the car park as a park and ride for St Andrews, where parking was also limited.
“Is Leuchars’ car park going to be big enough in the end? Is it going to be what people want it to be?” she asked.
“I won’t mention parking charges because that would be contentious!”she added.
Councillors backed a recommendation by Fife Council head of asset management and building services Ken Gourlay to secure a compulsory purchase order (CPO) against the landowner with whom negotiations had been “unsuccessful to date”.
He said: “It might be that we can reach an agreement with the landowner but at this time we’d like to have a CPO to use if necessary.”