There are going to be some changes in Oldmeldrum Square soon.

New parking regulations for the spaces directly in The Square and the Little Square at the top of Cowgate will come into force.

DiscHere is a sneak preview of the parking discs which will be introduced.  Parking will remain free. But the spaces in the square as will be for a maximum of 2 hours.  The discs will be available in the local shops and need to be displayed, set to the time of arrival.

They are easy to use and will be familiar to many who travel to the lake district where they are common.

When you arrive, you set the clock at the time you parked.  You then have 2 hours to visit shops and facilities.  The discs will be used time and time again but will expire on the date shown on the disk.  After that, you need to go into a shop and get another valid one.

Why use disks and not stickers?  Well, the discs can be reused.  Parking tickets require an expensive sometimes unsightly machine, need replacement tickets and can create litter.  Using discs are easier to manage, enforce and make changes as circumstances develop.

Aberdeenshire Council are introducing this in Oldmeldrum as a trial.  Other towns and villages might look at this for a mixture of free parking and charging depending what happens here.

There will be no change to the main car park in Baker street, which will be free and people should consider using the unlimited free car parking Bays painted on the South Road approach to the Square.