CONSULTATION must take place before a decision is taken on taxi rank provision in Cowdenbeath’s revamped High Street.

That’s the message to Fife Council officers from the area committee, which was due to give the green light to change the current restrictions.

This was a result of ongoing improvement work which led to the need for new disabled and taxi bays.

However the decision was stalled as councillors were unhappy that a taxi rank planned for a layby outside Boots and the Bank of Scotland only had four spaces.

Cowdenbeath councillor Alex Campbell was not impressed and said: “I have had a few taxi operators at me. I believe reducing them to four bays is not enough.

I would like to consider changing it to six spaces and move the two disabled bays down to the square area. I don’t think four taxi spaces is enough.”

The council’s lead consultant for traffic management south, Phil Clarke, said the balance of disabled parking and taxi bays had been discussed and they had gone with an option they believed was reasonable.

But an unhappy Cllr Darren Watt said: “What we are doing right now is what should have happened a long time before it got to this stage. We don’t feel we have been advised on this situation.

"I know Cowdenbeath Community Council dispute the fact that they have been advised. Initially I sought clarity twice in terms of taxi rank spaces and I failed to get a reply.

“We need to be maximising and helping businesses make the most of this. For the size of Cowdenbeath to have only four spaces, I don’t think a lot of consideration has been put into the whole purpose of this.”

Committee convener, Councillor Linda Erskine, asked the transportation officials to return to their meeting in November after further consultation.

“We need to go away and get a proper meeting set up with local councillors and any other interested parties – and that includes the community council – to have the opportunity to be consulted and come back with a consensus on the right way forward for High Street.”