Cheshire East Council has reviewed tariffs at its for the Pay and Display off-street car parks across the borough and is now intending to increase them next year.
Their proposals, which are currently for consultation, include significantly increasing the parking charges at car parks located at train stations, in Wilmslow, Macclesfield and Crewe.
The Council is recommending an increase of over 100% at Broadway Meadow car park which would see a 6 to 10 hour stay going up from £3.30 to £7.50.
Additionally the charge for 2 days would more than double from the current fee of £6.60 to £15.00. Three days would increase from £9.90 to £22.50, four days from £13.20 to £30 and 5 days from £16.50 to £37.50.
Meanwhile a three month parking permit would go up from £180 to £400 and a twelve month parking permit would cost £1525, up from the current tariff of £655.
A spokesperson for Cheshire East council said "In order to facilitate a mirrored increase in charges on car parks closely linked to mainly commuter parking – i.e. at those car parks right near train stations, it is proposed to increase the charges in these car parks in line with those in the private sector such as Virgin Rail (who charge £12 per day) to £7.50 per day with the multi day and quarterly and annual permits for these car parks increasing pro-rata."
The Council is also proposing to increase all hourly tariffs by 10p and the quarterly and annual season tickets pro-rata. The new charges would be introduced in the The Carrs, South Street, Hoopers, The Rex, Spring Street, and the Leisure Centre car parks in Wilmslow.
Speaking about the reasons a spokesperson for Cheshire East Council said "In order to support residents, businesses and people who are visiting and shopping in the area, it is important to ensure an appropriate turnaround of parking spaces on all of our car parks and undertake a sensible enforcement approach towards those who park irresponsibly."
The proposals also include increasing all contract parking permits/season tickets; charges for residents parking permits, change of Vehicle Registration Mark (VRM) or loss of either a residents parking permit or contract parking permits/season tickets.
The cost of a residents parking permit will increase from £50 to £60 for the first and £75 for the second. Whilst a charge of £10 will be introduced for a change of Vehicle Registration Mark (VRM) or loss of parking permit.
The spokesperson continued "The overall purpose of this proposal to amend parking charges is to ensure that the Council can continue to provide suitable, adequate, safe and well maintained parking provision. Charging for parking can be justified provided it is aimed at the fulfilment of the statutory purposes including, but not limited to, the cost of provision of on-street and off-street parking, and the costs of enforcement."
The Council intends to introduce these changes from 8th March 2019.
Any objection or other representation relating to the proposed Variation must be made in writing. All objections or representations must specify the grounds on which they are made. Objections and other representations should be sent, marked for the attention of the Parking Services Manager, Cheshire East Council, Municipal Buildings, Earle Street, Crewe, Cheshire CW1 2BJ or by email to [email protected] and titled "Variation to the Car Parks Order" to arrive no later than 19th December 2018.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
Obviously we can always rely on Cheshire East Council to go for the money option every time and without any consideration of the consequences of its actions.
What it offers is NOT a solution, it is simply a dirty money-grabbing exercise.
Once again, Residents of Wilmslow (RoW) attempted to discuss solutions with Cllr Bailey, Leader of CEC, but her only response was to "suggest" we place our solutions with the faux parking survey. In short, she wasn't prepared to discuss this daily blight for even a minute.That's the limit of her and her council's interest in the town's daily parking mayhem.
So all you good folk of Wilmslow, remember next 2nd May when you all have the opportunity to vote for RoW candidates for CEC - RoW councillors will be the ONLY ones fighting to improve the town's infrastructure including a hoped for parking solution to the town's blight.
As Nick Jones writes above, the CEC leader should be hanging her head in shame.
By continually returning the same candidates to power we've allowed them to become arrogant and aloof, safe in the knowledge that they'll face no consequences whatsoever.
With regard to this particular issue, the Council should be duty bound to play their part in creating favourable trading conditions for local businesses, on the basis that they themselves will then benefit from an increase in business rate receipts. Instead, they tie businesses in knots with petty regulations and idiotic "initiatives" created to do the exact opposite.
We've got a town full of entrepreneurs and business people full of great ideas (such as the motor show) whilst the council stand at the side lines waiting to kick any ingenuity to death.
They're utterly out of touch with public opinion, riddled with criminal investigations and fail us on even the most basic of issue (parking on Alderley Road to name but one).
It would appear that Cheshire East exists entirely for its own benefit.
Its time to http://changecheshireeast.co.uk
I'd like to see a residents parking scheme introduced, providing, say, a couple of hours free parking.
The parking permits are already a joke. Whilst the council will happily take £180 for a 3 month permit, your parking space isn't even reserved so you could quote possibly still have nowhere to park.
Why not also put parking meters on both sides of Buckingham Road and also along Alderley Road.... doing this on both sides of the road would effectively block traffic. It’d be a faster way to kill Wilmslow and get CEC even more money.
Ridiculous is not a strong enough word for the ludicrous idea that increasing parking charges would solve any problem at all. This one takes the biscuit even for CEC.
A solution to the road cloggers is to issue parking fines until they get the message that they need to consider coming by other means - train, bus, bike foot car share. Now there’s an ironic thing - a recent comedy TV programme was Peter Kay’s “Car Share“ whose popularity hasn’t seem to be translated into becoming a sensible activity. Just because there is a shortage of car parking doesn’t mean that those who become a public nuisance can get away with it.
As for building sites such as those near the Coach & Four - it should be part of any planning permission that NO workers or contractors should park their vehicles on a public highway and sufficient spaces for them are provided INSIDE the site and OFF the road. These sites will, when finished, have parking for the residents so why not build them first and use them for the site workers?
Another factor that doesn’t help is that offices are not required at the planning stage to provide sufficient parking for all the employees and a percentage for visitors. It would be a better policy if the parking that has to be provided was 120% of the employee count and then any excess could be hired out to visitors.
Vote our useless councillors out at the next elections!
Please do not tar us all with the same brush!
I have repeatedly emailed the Council requesting an update on the car parking survey completed in mid September.
Following this press release from the Council I sent the email below to the Portfolio Holder, Councillor Don Stockton, the leader of the Council, Rachel Bailey and senior officers of the Council.
“Another week has passed by seemingly without any further progress (on the briefing promised about the parking survey).
Unfortunately the press release issued by the Council on the consultation proposing an increase in parking charges - particularly at Broadway Meadow - has only served to further inflame Wilmslow residents.
This ill-timed press release serves only to fuel the opinion of an increasing number of Wilmslow residents that there is a complete lack of competence and communication at a senior level at Cheshire East.
On behalf of residents please advise
1. How the results of the long awaited Wilmslow Parking Survey has informed, and supported, these proposed increases in Wilmslow?
2. When members, Town Councillors, businesses and residents will be informed and consulted on the result of Wilmslow’s parking survey?”
If I get a response I will let you know.
Councillor Toni Fox - Independent
Dean Row Ward - Wilmslow
That's a very good point. If, as a private home owner, you want to make even the most minor of modifications to your own property, CEC will have their sticky beaks into all the tiny details before you can say "gardening leave". They have pages of regulations covering the most trivial of eventualities all of which you'll be expected to meet. However, these regulations appear to be very flexible depending on who you are and how big your legal team is.
And Toni Fox should definitely not be tarred with the same brush, she's an excellent independent Councillor.
I don't go into that area. Fortunately for me Handforth Dean is my corner shop. I refuse to go into Stockport for that reason and if I have to go I drive
out of Stockport and get a bus down (on my bus pass). More car parks reasonably priced so the residents are not bothered by people parking on pavements etc.
It’s beyond belief that they’re getting away with things that would be considered as criminal for anyone outside the CEC! As has been said above - we, the residents, need to take action to get them out of power and help get a new, genuine, motivated and sensible group of decent folk with the wellbeing and comfort of the people they serve at the top of their priorities list. Let’s fight with our votes?
Thank goodness we do have bona-fide independent cllrs working together, to put their Public before any Party Politics... We need more of them !!
As Jim Hacker one said "... this government [CEC] is here to govern, not merely preside like our predecessors did. When a county is going downhill, it is time for someone to get into the driving seat, and put his foot on the accelerator."... Well Bailey and crew are accelerating into their own car crash here !!.. unfortunately they are intent in harming others in the process
Any Cllr whos not been deselected or hasn't jumped ship like to explain to the Residents of Wilmslow why this financial imposition to harm the town is a good idea ??
Is there any feedback from our Conservative Cheshire East councillors on this? What have they actually done to oppose these car parking price increases? Or to put yellow lines on Alderley Road?
Would Cllr Barton, Cllr Brookes, Cllr Stockton or Cllr Menlove like to tell us what they are doing to fix these problems?
Their silence is deafening though and their action is non-existent. They will never rock their masters boat and will ALWAYS put their party before the town.
Only one group in Wilmslow puts ‘People Before Party’ though.
Remember that on May 2nd 2019.
Cllr Mark Goldsmith
Residents of Wilmslow, Wilmslow Town Council
Of course there is another course of action we could take and that would be civil disobedience! Let's suppose a like-minded group of, say, 100 Wilmslow residents formed a new fifth column Ginger Group named the 'Cone Club'. Membership would require ownership of one large road cone! Linked by email the group would plan regular evening 'sorties' to the Wilmslow's problem parking hot spots to place their own parking deterrents on pavements and grass verges currently used by inconsiderate motorists. Cones would be collected mid morning beyond office opening times.
At least someone would be taking some action!
I'd just love to try it out but I guess the best way is what so many have suggested. Change the current guards and vote out the party politicians and vote for the 'Residents of Wilmslow' independent candidates next May!
Or....................!
I'm fed up writing comments on both Lisa's wonderful pages on the painful issue of daily inconsiderate commuter parking on our streets and of writing & talking to the CEC's Leader, all to no avail. Like the three (wise) monkeys (no disrespect to our dear monkey friends) - CE doesn't see. doesn't hear, doesn't speak, typifies this council's "leadership".
Now they are adding insult to its disdain with continuing ignoring the town's residents by blindly,greedily & inconsiderately pushing to increase its car-parking charges. And they have the chutzpah (downright,bl**dy nerve) to do nothing to even attempt to solve the real, daily on-road parking problem.
Faced with such intransigence, greed, uncaring & a blunt refusal to listen to the vexatious parking problem, I am intrigued by Martin Lewis's suggestion for residents to purchase their very own cone to be placed along the dangerous stretch of Alderley Road (& elsewhere where needed). After all, the authorities have shown they are all incapable & unwilling to act in the interests of citizens' road safety etc it will be left to those who must,will & can. No doubt the French citoyen et paysans have a word for such action. I'm all for joining Martin's Cone Club. Who else wishes to become a member?
David Keane our PPC said when he visited Alderley Road "Daily enforcement is never the way to solve the problem but it's a way of helping to get double yellow lines, which has got to be the solution."
As you state "words and repetition are just that and quite divorced from actions", can you please tell us:
What actions you and your Conservative colleagues have taken to get yellow lines installed on Alderley Road?
Just for the purpose of clarity:
action
noun: the fact or process of doing something, typically to achieve an aim.
The aim is to permanently fix the problem parking on Alderley Road with yellow lines. Even David Kean could see this from his quick visit. Cheshire East has total responsibility for installing yellow lines. Not the PPC and not the police. Therefore, Cheshire East can fix this problem all on its own. But ONLY if it chooses to act.
The first action is for them to issue a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) to start the public consultation process. It can take six months to get new yellow lines through the legal hoops, so when will this start? There are currently 17 TRO's on Cheshire East's web site, so why is Alderley Road not one of them?
We have heard lots of words from you on this problem but you have not told us ANY of the actions you and your three Conservative colleagues are taking to install yellow lines and permanently fix it.
Once you tell us this, you can then tell us what action you are all taking to stop Cheshire East doubling car parking charges. Then you can tell us what action you are taking to get a new long-term car park built in Wilmslow to actually fix our numerous parking problems?
However, until you tell us any of this, we have to assume you are using words and repetition in your comments to hide your total lack of any meaningful action.
Cllr Mark Goldsmith
Residents of Wilmslow, Wilmslow Town Council
What is behind your ignorant & amateurish attempt to smear RoW?
RoW has been a totally independent group since its formation in 2011.
RoW is solely concerned with Wilmslow's betterment & protection against the major political parties who have willingly collude in allowing Wilmslow's & our neighbours' lands to be lost for ever.
Better still, why not talk to RoW before you write such utter, unsubstantiated, drivel? Such a conversation will no doubt allay any deluded misconceptions you may have about RoWs independent raison d'etre.
You are more than welcome to contact RoW on 07930 377778 for informative information.
A small number of UK councils have taken entirely the opposite approach and made parking free, or very low cost, with often remarkable increases in footfall in their high streets.
CEC need to take heed and come into the 21st century
One of the questions I will be asking is how the findings of the survey have supported the proposed increases in car parking charges in Wilmslow.
Councillor Toni Fox - Independent, Residents of Wilmslow
Dean Row Ward