COUNCIL chiefs say they have not been given enough time to deal with the impact of planned resurfacing work at Johnstone train station’s car park.

A leaked email confirmed the local authority’s head of operations and infrastructure was “disappointed” ScotRail had not allowed it to work together with the transport company to prevent disruption, with cars expected to park on surrounding roads instead.

Officers had hoped to put through a temporary traffic regulation order (TTRO), which would ban on-street parking in the area and relieve congestion while works are ongoing from January 5 to February 4.

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However, a TTRO needs a lead-in time of six weeks, which could not be achieved because of the lack of communication.

Councillor Derek Bibby, who represents Johnstone, slammed ScotRail for not cooperating with the council and said the situation “will cause major disruption.”

The car park has more than 400 spaces and is in daily use by commuters.

Councillor Bibby said: “It is unacceptable that there was no prior notice given to the council or police by ScotRail. This falls far off the level of cooperation and joined-up thinking one would expect in these circumstances.

“The absence of contingency arrangements will cause major disruption in the surrounding streets, which will be exacerbated in the likely event of bad weather.

“I am calling on ScotRail to explain why they did not inform the council and believe they should offer compensation to those Johnstone folk and beyond who will be seriously affected by the inevitable disruption.”

Renfrewshire Council confirmed to Councillor Bibby that it will work together with Police Scotland to do what it can to “minimise disruption to the travelling public by seeking to enforce existing parking restrictions in place around the station.”

Officers did recognise it was an “appropriately quiet” time of year to carry out the work.

It is understood the work is being funded from an underspend in ScotRail’s budget for 2018/19.

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ScotRail said it had communicated with “customers and local stakeholders” ahead of the work and apologised for any inconvenience caused.

A spokeswoman added: “The works to the car park will improve facilities for customers using the station.

“We are sorry for the inconvenience caused to our customers while the work is taking place.”