One of the city’s prominent club owners has slammed the council’s decision to axe free parking on a Sunday fearing it will impact on Glasgow’s ailing night time economy.

Donald MacLeod, of Holdfest Entertainments, which owns the Garage and Cathouse nightclubs, said the move will not attract people into the city.

His warning comes after Glasgow City Council announced the new policy would tackle parking bay blocking in the city centre on a Sunday.

Many motorists who travel into the city centre on a Saturday will leave their car overnight, which has contributed to the parking bay blocking problem.

Glasgow Times:

Some leave their cars for overnight hotel stays while others enjoy the many restaurant, bars, clubs and entertainment venues which Glasgow has to offer.

Mr MacLeod said: “If you want people into Glasgow, you don’t target the cars that bring them in.

“We are shooting ourselves in the foot here, it is definitely a bad move.”

He added: “The biggest concern with club owners and the licensing trade is the dwindling numbers coming into the city in general terms.

“It seems there are punitive measures here to balance the books which is just out of order.”

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Mr MacLeod explained that city restaurants, bars and clubs are already suffering from ongoing works as part of a £115 million Avenues project to spruce up Glasgow streets. The first phase included extending the pavements and cycle lanes on Sauchiehall Street, which is still ongoing.

Mr MacLeod said: “The city is not ready, works are still ongoing and streets are getting dug up so a lot of people are avoiding the city anyway because of these ongoing works.

“I am all for the regeneration of Glasgow. I’m a Glaswegian and I want to see the city do well.”

He added: “But if you want people to come to Glasgow, you don’t make it harder for them and you don’t make it more costly. There are plenty of other choices out there.”

READ MORE: Free Sunday parking in Glasgow City Centre ends

Tomorrow is the last day of free on street parking. Glasgow City Council hope people will switch to public transport or use one of the local authority run car parks.

The charges are the same as Monday to Saturday so drivers will have to pay £1 for 15 minutes equalling £4 for an hour.

There is a maximum stay of two hours intended to free up spaces throughout the day.

Councillor Ade Aibinu added: “The administration claims this proposal will make more on-street parking available, but it will also make it less affordable and leaves Glaswegians with little alternative. Further to this, the councils record of enforcement is so poor that this blanket approach will most likely fail in achieving its objectives while also damaging the viability of the city centre”.

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