Friday August 21st 2026
West Blackhall Street, Inverclyde
Written by Glasgow View Reporter, Liam Eunson
Councillors have approved a package of measures to improve parking and tackle inconsiderate drivers on West Blackhall Street and agreed to look at what else could be done.
Members of Inverclyde Council’s environment and regeneration committee yesterday, Thursday 20 August 2026, gave the green light to a series of proposals, including changes to loading bay and on-street parking restrictions to create additional parking spaces and increase turnover of spaces throughout the day.
Councillors also supported proposals to increase the free stay times in town centre car parks, create four additional spaces, and install bollards on the cycle lane to prevent illegal and inconsiderate parking.
The changes are expected to increase in daily parking availability by 45 per cent, helping more customers visit shops, services, and amenities.
The proposals will involve temporary traffic regulation orders in the first instance, with promotion of permanent orders with related public consultation in due course.
It was also agreed that proposals to change the current one-way system layout and remove residents’ permit parking from certain areas should be examined in closer detail with a report to come back to a future committee meeting.
The plans were developed following feedback from businesses, pedestrians and cyclists about the conditions on West Blackhall Street since a £6 million redevelopment was completed in March 2025.
The council consulted directly with businesses in the area in June 2026 seeking feedback on some of the proposals and offering traders the chance to provide their own ideas.
Letters were sent to more than 60 businesses and the survey was promoted on the council website, social media channels and in the local press but only six responses were received.
Councillor Michael McCormick, Inverclyde Council’s convener of environment and regeneration, said: “We have listened to the concerns from residents, businesses and other stakeholders and, on the back of that, officers came up with various proposals to try and make changes that will improve West Blackhall Street.
“What has been agreed by committee is a series of sensible measures that can be introduced relatively quickly and within existing budgets to make a difference to West Blackhall Street and without causing major disruption or incurring significant additional costs.”
The proposals are included in a wide-ranging report examining the West Blackhall Street redevelopment, which was completed in March 2025.
Despite parking being removed on one side of the street to accommodate a widened pavement and cycle lane, parking in the town centre has increased by four spaces and two disabled spaces.
This is thanks to the creation of new car parks on Jamaica Street, Dalrymple Street and on-street parking on Dalrymple Street in recent years.
Proposed changes in detail:
Change loading bays to parking after 10am:
By allowing loading bays to operate as parking spaces after 10am, it is possible to create 15 additional parking spaces across the town centre (an increase of circa 15 per cent) while still protecting essential delivery access for businesses between 8am and 10am.
On-Street Parking Restriction Changes:
Introducing a 1-hour maximum stay within the town centre on West Blackhall St, Westburn St, Nicolson St, Laird St, Argyll St, Jamaica St, Kilblain St, Nelson St, Dalrymple St, Grey Place and Haig St would significantly increase the number of visitors who can access the town centre each day which would increase vehicle turnover and support access to local businesses.
Additional Space Creation:
It is possible to create a limited number of additional spaces on Dalrymple Street (3 new spaces opposite Word Up) and Jamaica Street (1 new space near the junction with West Blackhall Street). These small changes will deliver immediate, visible improvements to parking capacity.
Car Park Operation Changes:
The creation of additional short stay car parking in the following car parks which are currently £2/day operation by altering to 3hrs free and £2/day will complement the proposed 1hr parking changes in the town centre:
– Dalrymple St
– Roslin Street
– West Stewart Street
– Hastie Street
– Cathcart Street
– Cathcart Street East
– Station Ave East and West
The changes above would result in a recurring revenue pressure linked to a reduction in income from the paid car parks. A survey of the usage within all car parks across the Inverclyde area was undertaken in 2019 to determine how long each vehicle was staying. The survey data concluded that if the car parks were changed to 3hrs this would reduce the income by circa 60 per cent. At that time the income reduction estimate was circa of £50K for the car parks in Greenock, since 2019 the income from car parks has reduced by 42 per cent linked to the impact of post-Covid working practices and other factors. A revised projection based on this provides an indicative lost income estimate of £20-30k in 2026. This item will form part of wider considerations for a consistent approach across the whole of Inverclyde.
Install Bollards on Cycle Lane:
Since the completion of the works, vehicles have routinely parked on the cycle lane even though there are no waiting/no loading restrictions. This has meant that the cycle lane could not be used as was intended. It has also been reported that pedestrians using the benches within the street feel vulnerable as cars drive towards them in a pedestrian area with a number of near misses reported in respect of vehicles narrowly missing street furniture. There have been over 100 tickets issued along the cycle lane since it came into operation, however the parking enforcement officers are required to cover the whole of Inverclyde and it is not possible to dedicate resource to West Blackhall Street. It is proposed that bollards be installed along the cycle route to address the current health and safety concerns and remove the hazard of pedestrians/cyclist conflict with vehicles that illegally drive and park along it. This would also reduce the requirement for enforcement activity beyond the normal levels. It should be noted that this would narrow the cycle lane from the current 2m (current technical guidelines for a cycle lane with less than 300 cycles an hour) to 1.5m. However, given there is adequate room along the footway and a clearly designated buffer zone it is considered that 1.5m is acceptable.
The report also explored the potential for removing the cycle lane, changing the direction of the one-way system on West Blackhall Street, removing residents’ parking permits, and using the former Babylon Nightclub site for car parking but none of these ideas were approved largely due to the significant additional costs that would be involved.
Committee was told that the removal of the cycle lane could cost the council up to £6m in additional costs and payback of grants that were provided towards the West Blackhall Street redevelopment on the condition that a cycle lane be installed.
The proposals are available in full on the council website at www.inverclyde.gov.uk/meetings in contained in Agenda Item 5 and the environment and regeneration committee meeting is available to watch live on the council’s YouTube channel.
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