Parking crash for cash-strapped council

A CITY council has warned that its income from street parking has fallen well below budget targets.

And the shortfall facing an already cash-strapped Aberdeen City Council could be as much as 500,000.

There are clear signs that both on-street and off-street parking are "struggling to perform" to budget, according to a report which will go before the meeting next Tuesday of the council's enterprise, planning and infrastructure committee.

For on-street parking, the budget shortfall could be 325,000 by the end of this year. Residents' parking permits are budgeted at 970,000 for the full year, but the shortfall could reach 275,000.

Hugh Murdoch, the council's head of service, said: "In the same way that city centre retail businesses have found it more challenging in 2009, the lack of visitors to the city centre also means that people are not paying for parking as much as in the past."

But he added: "The level of spending on staffing costs is well below the budgeted allowance. Administration and enforcement staff vacancies are amounting to an underspend of approximately 570,000."