Fresh concerns have been raised over the future shape of the community wardens service amid an ongoing review by Renfrewshire Council.

It is feared the focus of the team could shift from dealing with reports of antisocial behaviour to a greater emphasis on parking enforcement in light of this year’s increased charges in Paisley town centre.

This was expressed by members of staff to Paisley East and Whitehaugh Community Council earlier this year, according to the minutes of a meeting in May.

The apprehension has since been shared by Councillor Will Mylet, an independent representative for Paisley East and Central, who believes the ethos of the service could become less about public safety and more about “generating income”.

He said: “Given the fact we’ve got the minutes from the community council meeting, the wardens are under the impression that what the council wants to do is remove the back-shift and that means that you won’t be able to deal with antisocial behaviour.

“That’s where my concern is going to lie. What I have found out is that they’ve only got one back-shift. They’ve only got a full-time wardens service four days a week because they’re working four on, four off.

“Basically what they’ve said is that at 7pm, four days a week, there is no wardens service to deal with antisocial behaviour at this current time and this is before the outcome of any review.

“I know there’s a big shortfall in the income they thought they’d get from the Paisley parking. As much as people in Paisley have been hammered with the parking charges, they’ve realised that they won’t make as much as they were hoping, so now they’ve actually turned to the wardens to enforce parking.

“They can’t be dealing with antisocial behaviour if they don’t have a back-shift to cover four days a week, so you’re going to have several weekends in a row where there’s no wardens available to potentially go out and help people with antisocial behaviour.

“This is not about public safety, it’s now about generating income, which is not acceptable. They should be focusing the wardens to help people, they’re not there to try and make some money.”

The local authority said the wardens service operates between 8am and 10pm from Sunday to Thursday and between 8am and midnight on Friday and Saturday but advised there are vacancies that may impact hours of operation.

A council spokesperson explained: “We are progressing a review of our warden service to consider the changing demand on the service and ensure we continue to provide an efficient and effective service which meets the needs of our communities now and in the future. Any changes to the service will follow ongoing consultation with our staff and trade unions.

“Our wardens continue to provide a seven-day service to address a range of environmental crimes and parking enforcement to ensure our transport routes are safe and accessible.

“The wardens also support partner agencies and work alongside dedicated youth teams and Street Stuff to help tackle youth disorder and antisocial behaviour.”