Three southside community groups have penned a letter to bosses urging them to meet face-to-face over the Parking Control Zone (PCZ) plans for Shawlands, Battlefield and Strathbungo.
Their demand comes after a petition they organised, signed by over 7,000 people, was refused by the council.
Looking along Langside Avenue to Minard Road (Image: Robert Perry)
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The letter, addressed to executive director at NRS, George Gillespie, reads: “We wrote to you on December 8, 2025 with an open letter, supported by a public petition with 7,238 signatories, calling for these proposals to be withdrawn due to the serious flaws in NRS’s process – including fundamental breaches of the National Community Engagement Standards, which underpin the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015.
“On December 17, we received an email from GCC’s Petitions Officer, rejecting the public petition.
“On January 15, 2026, Kevin Argue, NRS’s Head of Service (Sustainable Transport, Traffic, Parking Operations) responded more fully, making clear the Council’s intention to continue with their process notwithstanding the overwhelming objections of our local community.
“It is now evident that there are serious gaps in NRS’s evidence base for these proposals, including a lack of impact assessment and relevant modelling data.
“Mr Argue sidestepped the central point in the public letter, the Council’s failure to deliver a fair and accessible consultation process – as a statutory responsibility of GCC, this obligation precedes and therefore overrides any consideration of the feedback on the proposals received through the Council’s survey or by way of correspondence.
“As local representative bodies for the community, both residents and businesses, we now demand an urgent meeting with you to address urgent and immediate concerns about NRS’s flawed process for engagement and consultation on this matter.
“Please reply to this within 2 weeks, by latest February 25, 2026.”
The letter sent by the three groups to NRS boss George Gillespie (Image: Supplied)
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A Glasgow City Council spokesperson said: “We are currently reviewing all of the feedback we received in response to the publication of initial proposals for parking controls in Battlefield, Strathbungo and Shawlands.
“The information provided through our survey and other sources will be carefully considered as we develop the next stage in this process.
“Local community councils have provided submissions on the initial proposals, and they will be formally consulted on any proposed traffic regulation order should it be brought forward.
“Parking has repeatedly been raised as an issue in these communities, and our own observations confirm there are issues that require to be addressed.
“In many cities, including Glasgow, parking zones have proven to be successful and help ensure streets are better managed, safer for all road users, easier to access for service vehicles and add to an improved local environment.
“A local authority has no obligation to provide on-street parking for vehicles, but a local authority is responsible for managing the road space safety and particularly parking, once it has become an issue.”
Proposals have been brought forward to introduce parking controls in Shawlands, Battlefield and Strathbungo.
The three areas are routinely affected by parking issues that lead to regular complaints to Glasgow City Council.
The council ran online surveys that closed in mid-December. The responses will be reviewed, and the initial proposals will be given further consideration before a further opportunity for public response.
