'Our streets are being used as a free car park'

Residents say it is usually difficult to park outside their own homes

Residents of a new housing development in Glasgow say their streets are being taken over by people using it as a "free car park".

Homeowners on the Northbridge estate in Sighthill say they struggle to park their cars due to people leaving their vehicles in the area to avoid high parking charges and the low emission zone (LEZ) in the city centre.

The estate is part of a scheme which includes the Sighthill Bridge over the M8 and is designed to ease pedestrian and cyclist access to the city centre.

However, the scheme has attracted city centre workers and students keen to avoid the city centre charges.

"The council say they're aware of the issues but they created the problem by not putting in any parking restrictions," says local resident Peter Collins.

Glasgow City Council said it was considering parking control measures to protect residents.

Northbridge is part of a £250m regeneration of Sighthill through the Glasgow Region City Deal, which is funded by the UK and Scottish governments.

But Mr Collins said the area has been plagued by anti-social behaviour, pests and graffiti since he first moved there in 2022.

And the 46-year-old said the streets were now regularly used for free parking by city centre workers and students.

"There were about 50 big vans around our three streets last week," he said.

"The council told us they couldn't afford to do parking but this is supposed to be the biggest investment in a development of its kind outside of London."

Peter Collins first moved into the new Northbridge housing development in 2022

Mr Collins said residents had been "passed back and forth" between police and the council when issues came up.

He said there had been incidents of disabled people not being able to access their homes and people being blocked in by other cars.

"Police say parking is a council issue and then the council say they don't have the resources," he said.

"There are zero parking restrictions and the council say it is a priority area since its right by the LEZ, but in the meantime people are using it as a free car park for the city centre.

"They park on the drop kerbs and on the pavements, which is illegal, and I've fallen twice because of it.

"My dog's nearly been knocked down twice because you're always coming out between cars and you can't see what's coming."

Residents are concerned by the number of vehicles being left

Residents have urged the council to tackle the problem by introducing parking permits or double yellow lines.

Resident Angela said she was often woken up in the morning by city centre workers arriving early to park in the street.

"I’ve seen people park here, get their suitcases out and head to the city centre and then they don’t come back for several days so I’m assuming they went off on holiday," she said.

"There’s still work waiting to be done on the other side of the development and I’ve got no idea how they’re going to get big vehicles down the street."

Some cars are left on pavements and block walkways

The "rusty" bridge reconnected neighbourhoods in the north of Glasgow to the city centre

Sighthill Bridge opened next to the development in 2023 and reconnected the area to the city centre over the M8.

James, 21, moved into the development when it was first built and told BBC Scotland News he usually struggled to find a place to park in front of his own house.

"A lot of people park here and walk across the bridge to avoid the LEZ," he said.

"It mostly seems to be city centre workers or students walking across to Glasgow Caledonian or Strathclyde University."

Steven, 27, lives in one of the new houses and said he was considering turning his garden into a double drive for his and his girlfriend's cars.

"Often people park all the way down to the traffic lights and it ends up creating a one-way road which is quite dangerous," he said.

"And a lot of people park here to walk over to the Royal Infirmary since it’s just a five-minute walk."

A council spokesperson said: “We are currently considering parking control measures to protect residents in Sighthill from people coming into the area to park in this way.

"If driveways, etc, are being blocked residents should contact Police Scotland.”