Cheshire East Council is to take steps to clamp down on nuisance parking, with Wilmslow targeted first following a high number of complaints.
Irresponsible and inconsiderate parking in the town is causing difficulties for residents, pedestrians, people with prams, the disabled and other road users as well as businesses. Some people have complained of finding their driveway blocked, leaving them unable to get in or out of their own home.
Cheshire East Council is committing to a review of parking policies and parking issues as part of its new Local Transport Plan. Work will begin in early September, with council officers monitoring the situation and gathering evidence to shape potential solutions.
The council believes that in towns where high levels of illegal and irresponsible parking are a daily problem, this can have a serious impact on footfall, businesses and the quality of life for shoppers and residents.
The review will include both on-road and off-road parking provision, to identify how best to use available spaces. Opportunities to provide additional parking will be assessed, alongside changes to enforcement and parking charges.
The council is already committed to introducing an additional six enforcement officers and will continue to review the level of enforcement activity required in our towns.
Cheshire East will work collaboratively with the police, town and parish councils, stakeholders and businesses to assess needs and potential solutions. It will also look at the possibility of enhanced enforcement measures to clamp down on illegal or irresponsible parking, such as on pavements or blocking driveways.
Councillor Glen Williams, deputy cabinet member for environment, said: "Knowing that there is a particular problem in the Wilmslow area, we intend to begin this process here without delay.
"Many of our residents are impacted by high numbers of vehicles in areas where statutory parking regulations are often ignored or where there is insufficient provision for off-road car parking.
"We intend to generate an open debate about parking matters, in partnership with our towns and local communities.
"Many of our residents and businesses suffer considerable inconvenience as a result of thoughtless, sometimes illegal, parking while people who are disabled or with young children can be seriously affected by vehicles parked on pavements or grass verges.
"We want our residents, visitors and businesses to enjoy access to our towns unencumbered by irresponsible parking practices on our main roads and side streets.
"We would like people to engage with us, talk to us about the issues and help us to reach solutions that satisfy the vast majority of those people affected."
The council will issue more information about the Wilmslow review, planned public meetings and events in the autumn.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
Martin Watkins
Dear Rachel 22 August 2018
I write as the Chairman of Wilmslow Town Council.
I sincerely hope that you and the elected Cheshire East Councillors for Wilmslow are acutely aware that this town and the town centre has a significant long-term issue relating to the long-stay parking provision. This problem is not new and has been the subject of much complaint for many years. Equally, you cannot fail to know that the problem has progressively worsened. It is my duty as the Chairman of the Conservative led Wilmslow Town Council to advise you, the Leader of our Conservative led Unitary Authority, of the very real anger which many of our residents of all political hues or of none, together with our local business leaders feel about this matter. This anger includes the continued failure of Cheshire East Council to acknowledge to us that the problem exists, its failure to engage meaningfully with us to examine potential solutions and its continued attempts to fob us off with “jam for tomorrow” with promises it has never kept. Please be in no doubt that the credibility and standing of the Council you lead is at an all time low in this town. People simply do not believe that you will take the slightest notice of this problem hence the anger now boiling to the surface.
This lack of provision has two significant consequences. On a commercial level, as confirmed by the town’s principle commercial property owner, it makes it more difficult to let commercial space in the town centre which is having a detrimental impact on the town’s economy. Secondly but possibly of even greater consequence, from a residents’ perspective there has been a significant increase in vehicles being parked on inappropriate residential streets and latterly along every major arterial route into the town. This second factor is, however, only partly caused by the shortage of long-stay parking spaces; it is also the result of people avoiding parking charges, an instinct for many even if adequate parking provision is in place.
Over the past couple of years parking on residential streets has increased and some traffic regulation orders have been brought in by Cheshire East Council to try to manage this effectively. However other streets such as, but not limited to, Buckingham Road have been turned in to car parks during the day and haven’t benefited from updated restrictions.
The big game changer for Wilmslow however started around 18 months ago when the ex CEC Remenham Building on Alderley Road was developed in to flats. At this time there were significant numbers of tradesmen, all in commercial vehicles and all looking for places to park, noticing that the major arterial routes of Knutsford Road, Alderley Road, Altrincham Road and Manchester Road had no parking restrictions in place. So, they took advantage of this fact, setting a precedent that has only worsened as the tradesmen have left and the office workers have taken their place in even greater numbers.
The lack of parking restrictions leaves the few number of your parking enforcement officers relatively powerless to do anything. The police, with limited powers, do not have the manpower to provide a meaningful presence to act. This results in the situation getting worse as office workers seek and discover other areas of weakness, notably on the A538 (Altrincham Road) and on Manchester Road, another major arterial route, where the lack of parking restrictions results in vehicles parking in the identified cycle lane rendering it entirely redundant.
I am aware that the MP for the Tatton Constituency has written to Cheshire East Council back in May of this year highlighting this problem and asking for a solution to be found. I am also aware of Wilmslow Cheshire East Council members highlighting the problem internally but seemingly with little reward. All I seem to hear back is that nothing can be done until the CEC Parking Survey is undertaken. However, this survey was promised as far back as the end of last year and indeed I have seen correspondence from Andrew Ross, Director of Highways & Infrastructure to a resident dated December 2017 indicating that the Cabinet would be taking this matter further forward at its meeting in January 2018. Nothing has happened to date, and it now appears to be being used as a barrier to action.
The clear message that I hear from speaking with residents and businesses is that regardless of any parking survey, the main arterial roads into the town require parking restrictions now and that no more time should be wasted in tackling this issue. Our residents just will not accept being told that parking restrictions take time especially as the need is not new.
I would be very grateful if you could advise me by return as to when we can expect to give residents some good news that action has started and when they can expect anything other than a temporary solution. I am copying this to our MP, to our Cheshire East Councillors, to members of my Council.
Yours sincerely,
COUNCILLOR MARTIN WATKINS
Chairman, Wilmslow Town Council
Copy to:
Esther McVey MP
Councillors Menlove, Brooks, Barton, Stockton, Fox
All WTC Councillors
Enough is enough- it is time to sweep this sorry bunch away.
CEC has been a disaster since day one; here we have another Conservative Town/Parish Council unanimously at odds with CEC. They have made us a laughing-stock in the National press time after time; surely our MP cannot ignore this much longer and must surely call for CEC to be put in Special Measures- or wound up completely and re-united wirh Cheshire West. The experiment failed; time to move on.
Esther- any comments? Ignore this forum at your peril.
Clearly it is time to throw party politics aside, get together and make it clear that we will no longer be taken for fools by this failing and incompetent cabal.
Worse, is when unknown , non residential vehicles, park up for the week and semi abandon the car. Probably to go to the airport. This is completely irresponsible and antisocial. Does anybody else experience this?
Where is best to report these cases?
I truly hope that the Council can fix this growing menace.
Suits CEC and Conservative Cllrs. More Independent Cllrs will surely sort out matters.
Like Geo Osborne, Esther McVey have done nothing, if they ever could.
She has never known it so bad!
Finally she is surprised at the A34 parking without restriction.
NB. CEC now charge £2.00 for 1 to 3 hours at Nelson Pits in Higher Poynton, or something like that, where adjacient roads have double yellow lines. It’s quiet up there. Walkers who enjoy the Canal or Middlewood Way walks are being screwed. The double yellow lines there are to force the use of the carpark, but we have none on the A34.
Make sense?
I was out walking my dog on Saturday up Bradford Lane, where it turns from a track to a road near the Wizard pub. Its a fairly quiet lane though I can imagine it sometimes gets busy at weekends. On the side of the road where police signs saying "No Parking. Parking here causes unnecessary obstruction. Vehicles parked in this way may be issued with a fixed penalty notice or towed away. Please contract Wilmslow Police on 0845 4586374 if you are unsure of this instruction".
Surely the current daily level of obstruction caused by legal but irresponsible parking on Alderley Road is far more serious than it could ever be on Bradford Lane. So, why haven't the police issued similar notices?
The Council is going to do a review:
The review could take about 30 minutes. Residents, and anyone with about half a brain cell, already know what the symptoms are - most of which were summarised by Cllr Martin Watkins: a) legal but irresponsible parking, e.g. on Alderley Rd and b) many people parking in Wilmslow believing that a double yellow line means "its okay to park here so long as you park on the pavement blocking the way for pedestrains
"We intend to generate an open debate about parking matters, in partnership with our towns and local communities"
No need to generate anything methinks, it's all happened!
"Many of our residents and businesses suffer considerable inconvenience as a result of thoughtless, sometimes illegal, parking while people who are disabled or with young children can be seriously affected by vehicles parked on pavements or grass verges"
Nothing like stating the obvious is there, fills a few lines.
"We want our residents, visitors and businesses to enjoy access to our towns unencumbered by irresponsible parking practices on our main roads and side streets"
Should have considered those consequences years ago when unbridled development and expansion grubbing about for income was encouraged without any thought nor consideration of the consequences
"We would like people to engage with us, talk to us about the issues and help us to reach solutions that satisfy the vast majority of those people affected"
Pompous nit wit. I can see justification for a drawn out review and assessment coming on - an excuse to spend more dosh on outsourced 'experts' who will eventually identify (most likely at great cost) the cause of our problems and come up with imaginative (and undoubtably costly) solutions. Same old same old.
OK, I'm being provocative and slightly negative and sarcastic but it's all hot air, smoke and mirrors - and many years too late. Proactive and anticipation is what we need, not reaction at 90-180deg. which is what we always seem to have foisted upon us.
Plenty of similar sentiment elsewhere on this subject so it's not just me.
Come May '19 - KICK 'EM OUT! Big time.
..and - Esther, you had better take notice otherwise I can see one of the biggest swings 'up North' come next General Election. This electorate has just about had enough (and I'm Blue through and through)
There are all sorts of problems in the Wilmslow parking free for all that has emerged under CE. The most urgent action that needs to happen NOW - no excuses, is double yellow lines along Alderley Road opposite the Coach and Four pub, that is causing traffic and paving blockages. As said above, it takes less than a minute to see the problem here. Forget consultations in the fullness of time. Get it sorted!