Councillors in East Ayrshire have warned about the potential implications of a new pavement parking ban – both for the public and for council resources.

The council aims to introduce the ban in October.

Concerns were raised about the public reaction to the ban, exemptions, and the amount of money being provided by the Scottish Government to put the ban in place.

Councillors heard how laborious the task of setting up the infrastructure to enforce the new legislation would be from Kevin Braidwood, the outgoing head of Ayrshire Roads Alliance.

READ MORE: Provisional date set for East Ayrshire pavement parking ban

He explained how the work would require every single road and street in East Ayrshire to be assessed.

This will allow some streets to be exempt from the ban, providing they meet specific criteria.

There will also be exemptions for certain road users, such as emergency services and delivery drivers.

East Ayrshire Council has been given £54,000 by the Scottish Government, a figure that Mr Braidwood said "won't touch" the amount the council will have to spend on the comprehensive assessment, traffic orders, signage and road markings.

He pointed out that this wouldn't be offset by income from fines until the enforcement comes into effect.

Mr Braidwood said: "We have to survey every street in East Ayrshire. It's not only during the day. We will have to look at them in the evenings because people come home from work and that's where you get most cars parked in the streets."

He said that streets that have no issues would not merit an exemption, while others that have some issues could require mitigation work.

There will also be streets that would be impossible for emergency services to drive down without allowing pavement parking.

Mr Braidwood continued: "We would then have to promote traffic regulation orders and that can take a considerable amount of time, so there is a lot of work to do."

READ MORE: Councillor says pavement parking ban will help keep communities safe

Depute council leader Jim McMahon said the issue of parking was already a major bone of contention for residents, pointing out that he had three cases around parking the day before.

He added that there would be issues around resourcing the ban and public perception could be problematic, particularly if people believe the ban is in place before the council can enforce pavement parking.

Mr McMahon also pointed out that there would be "massive" additional costs, including the need to provide alternative offroad parking.

Mr Braidwood said: "The £54,000 allocated from the Scottish Government won’t touch it, it's a small amount of money."

SNP councillor Clare Maitland said it was important that carers received the same exemption as medical practitioners.

Labour councillor Barry Douglas backed the call, adding: "They do some of the heavy work some of our other medical professionals maybe aren’t doing, but they aren't always treated the same.

"I think it's vital that they are given that exemption."

He welcomed the fact that officers were looking at exemption areas, pointing out that some councils were going for a "blanket" approach without any exemptions.

Cllr Douglas also suggested that it would make sense to consult with emergency services before undertaking the assessment. 

This would allow streets that meet the exemption criteria around emergency vehicle access to be quickly identified.

He said: "There's no point in leading the public up a garden path if we maybe haven’t spotted something that the emergency services have."

Mr Braidwood said that this would be discussed with the police.

Councillor Elaine Cowan suggested that those roads identified as requiring mitigation or exemptions could be given advisory notices in the lead up to the formal launch to encourage behaviour change.

Councillor Reid said: "We have got to remember why we this legislation is coming in, because of the obstructions that some users find in pavements.

"It's just trying to get that kind of balance. I think what we're trying to achieve in terms of health and safety and we've got to make sure that’s achieved."

Mr Braidwood added: "I would rather have the pavement parking process than forcing mothers with buggies and forcing wheelchairs to go into the road."

The report was approved by cabinet.