A plan to charge fees for council car parks in Barrhead and Neilston could cost commuters a packet and cause unwelcome displacement of cars to local streets.

That's the fear of Neilston Community Council's chairman, who has questioned the motivation for a plan which he says could also place an added burden on council wardens.

The proposed scheme includes the car park in Neilston's Kingston Road and the one in Carlibar Road, Barrhead, as well as in Eastwood car parks at Busby, Clarkston, Patterton, Giffnock and Merryvale Avenue.

It will also include the car park at the future Barrhead South railway station.

East Renfrewshire is already said to be suffering the effects of charges brought in at Hairmyres – one railway stop from Busby – with East Kilbride travellers parking at the East Ren site for free rather than pay their new local charge.

The East Ren proposal was sketched out in April, when the council agreed in principle to set aside £155,000 to fund a similar scheme, with a view to bring in charges in 2017-2018.

Neilston Community Council (NCC) chairman John Scott said: “Not many people seem to be aware of what is planned, and they should certainly be considering how it might affect drivers in their areas, so I'm getting in touch with other community councils to let them know how things could turn out.”

A spokeswoman for ERC said: ““We are currently one of the few places in the Glasgow area that does not charge for off-street parking. Competing demands for East Ren parking spaces from residents, shoppers, workers and commuters means off-street parking in key sites is in very high demand.

“The large number of commuters benefiting from our free off-street parking means our parking spaces are congested for long periods of time each day. This is having a negative impact on East Ren businesses and is contributing to a decrease in trade.”

“We are proposing to introduce parking charges at seven sites to help manage the turnover of parking spaces more effectively.”

She added: “No decisions have been made and in the next couple of months we will engage in a full and extensive consultation with our community partners and local residents to encourage as many people as possible to share their views on the proposals.” At a full council meeting in April the council agreed in principle that £155,000 from the capital fund will be used to progress this proposal with a view to the charges being put in place in 2017/18.