A private firm has said customers of an East Kilbride shopping precinct won't be hit in the pocket after signs appeared displaying parking fees.
Westwood Square was bought by property investors Knightsbridge in 2019 for an eye-watering £1 million, with promises to improve the area after years of neglect.
Local businesses and councillors raised concerns over the maintenance of the car park area and the poor condition of the road.
Works began in recent weeks with concerns raised over parking charges - and signs then appearing warning of a fine if failing to comply with parking tariffs.
However, when Lanarkshire Live previously contacted Knightsbridge they made no comment other than the car park area had been sold on to another firm - Gatehead Ltd.
Gatehead said at the time they had plans for repairs, but needed "other users of the site to pay their fair share" for the upkeep of the roads.
They now say any money generated from parking charges will help "improve the car parks" as well as "monitoring fly-tipping" in the area.
Councillor Gerry Convery has long called for potholes to be repaired and the road and Westwood Square to be properly maintained.
He previously told us that parking charges would be the "nail in the coffin" for the shopping centre and hit out at the car park and access road being sold on by Knightsbridge to another private firm.
Councillor Convery said: "The roads at the car park are still an absolute disgrace and full of potholes and I have been contacted by constituents in the area who are extremely unhappy about parking charges being introduced and I back them 100 per cent."
And a local butcher also posted a plea for shoppers to continue to support the centre - and claiming that cameras monitoring parking "had been taken down" for now.
McCandlish Butchers posted last week: "Just to let you know that you do NOT need to pay for parking at the Westwood Square yet. The cameras have been taken down. If this changes we will let you know. Please support your local shops. Thanks."
A spokesman for Gatehead Ltd said: "The reasons for the car parking charges are to generate the funds to improve the car parks, monitor fly tipping in the area, ensure that spaces are available for shoppers at the Westwood square businesses.
"Customers of these businesses will benefit from free parking."
South Lanarkshire Council previously said that vehicle access into the square and the car parks are private and therefore not maintained or controlled by them.
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