University holds 'positive' street parking talks

Residents have not been charged for permits to park in the area

Robert Gordon University (RGU) has held "positive" talks with community leaders in Aberdeen after announcing that it would stop paying towards residential street parking near its campus.

A controlled parking zone (CPZ) allows people living next to the university to park outside of their homes free of charge without students taking up spaces.

In December last year, RGU told Aberdeen City Council (ACC) that it would not renegotiate a 10-year agreement that is due to expire at the end of the year.

The university said it had committed to taking some "challenging yet necessary actions" to respond to financial pressures.

RGU currently pays the council to enforce rules on the surrounding streets and the local authority has not charged residents for parking permits while the CPZ has been operational.

The university said it was taking "challenging yet necessary actions" to deal with financial pressures

Council papers state that the university has ruled out an option to renegotiate the CPZ agreement.

It is recommended that councillors start charging residents for permits, or remove parking measures entirely.

Scrapping the current arrangement would also give students the freedom to park on streets which are currently off limits.

A meeting took place on Thursday to discuss the future of the CPZ and street parking in Garthdee.

RGU said it was a "positive consultation meeting" and further talks would take place in the coming weeks.

Garthdee Community Council has said it would not support action that forced residents to pay for parking permits as they "should not be financially penalised for decisions made by other bodies".