Battle over parking meters in sleepy seaside town sees machines glued shut
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The picturesque East Lothian town has become a battleground between some residents and the local authority over parking charges.
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'Unprecedented resistance': The battle over North Berwick's parking meters 2 hours ago Share Save James Delaney and Steven Godden BBC Scotland News Share Save The sleepy seaside town of North Berwick is an unlikely setting for an underground campaign of resistance. But East Lothian Council's decision to install parking meters has been met with an "unprecedented" level of hostility. Mystery vandals have caused almost £40,000 worth of damage to the machines by covering them in glue – weeks before they have had the chance to collect a single charge. Police Scotland described the attacks as "unacceptable" and said those responsible would be caught and "held accountable". Under the new measures, motorists would be granted up to 45 minutes of free parking on the High Street, about 30 miles (48km) from Edinburgh. They would then be charged £1 for up to 75 minutes and £2 for up to a maximum of 90 minutes to "incentivise the turnover" of available spaces. But ire towards the plans runs deep in this affluent and picturesque stretch of Scotland's world-renowned golf coast. A fractious council meeting in December was disrupted by motorists honking their car horns outside, while a man was ejected for barracking councillors with shouts of "shame" after it got under way. When BBC Scotland News visited, two workmen painting road markings said they had been "hassled" by locals while going about their jobs. Blank signage erected around the town ahead of the meter rollout has been defaced with the same word: "Resist". About £38,000 worth of damage has been caused to the parking meters Several have been covered with white glue and other substances Then there are the meters themselves. On one residential street, two machines about 20 yards apart are spattered with a bright white substance. Others have had their card readers glued shut. One close to the seafront, where the near-200-year-old golf club gives way to a spectacular view across the Firth of Forth to the Bass Rock, has its keyp...
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