Each year around £5m is generated in revenue from parking services across the whole of Cheshire East with almost a fifth of overall receipts coming from the council-run car parks in Wilmslow.
Councillor Toni Fox said "From figures provided from the Council via an FOI request, over the last 3 years car parks in Wilmslow have generated an income in excess of £2.8 million (almost a fifth of overall receipts from car parks across the Borough per annum) but only £6,800 has been spent on maintenance for the total 3 year period."
Councillor Fox has written to Councillor Don Stockton, Cabinet Member for the Environment, to request a breakdown of how the balance of £2,796,658.64 generated in Wilmslow has been spent.
Cheshire East Council received 292 representations during its recent consultation on proposals to increase car parking charges across the borough from March 2019.
In November the Council invited comments on their proposals which include:
● Increasing the parking price on most Cheshire East Council-owned car parks by 10 pence across each tariff;
● Increasing the charges at car parks by railway stations, which recognises the higher premium charged in the private sector whilst remaining highly competitive and encouraging more sustainable methods of travel to train stations;
● Increasing the cost of resident parking permits;
● Introducing an administration fee for the replacement of parking permits; and
● Introducing some car parks into the car park order meaning parking restrictions can be enforced where needed.
The money invested in parking services, which is currently around £3m each year, is spent on:
● Enforcement services;
● Pay-and-display machines and maintenance;
● Residents' parking services;
● Parking services; and
● Parking overheads.
The additional revenue, generated from the parking services across the whole borough, is currently around £2m each year.
Frank Jordan, executive director of place and acting deputy chief executive, said: "We would like to thank everyone who took the time to submit a representation as part of the parking charges consultation. All representations are now being reviewed and considered prior to any decision being made.
"The money that comes from car parks helps us to ensure our car parks are safe, secure and well maintained – and that there is a good turnaround of spaces for visitors and shoppers.
"In addition the revenue generated is invested into services elsewhere, such as highways, transport and other council services, such as adults and children's social care. This helps us continue to deliver local frontline services to those who are most vulnerable in all our communities.
"This is helping to provide local services for real people in all our communities."
A decision on the parking proposals is expected by March 2019.
Comments
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Real people. eh? interesting.And to make the point, CEC mentions this ghastly phrase twice.
Will CEC be prepared to tell what other kind of people live in the borough?
Unter mencheim perhaps?
Not a very bright phrase ("real people") to use with its historical context.
What sort of uneducated people does CEC employ in its PR dept. with such lamentable lack of historic knowledge displayed?
And this was under the name of the Exec Director of Place etc (whatever that title means) Frank Jordan. I assume he reads his PRs & with his name attached, before releasing them? But does he actually know what is being written in his name?
Just another example of CECs incompetence.
I agree that the cringe-worthy quotes coming out of CE are moving from the bizarre to the ridiculous - as are the titles used to describe the non-jobs for which we the Council Tax payer pick up the tab.
But most worrying about the statement above is the nebulous way in which the transition from income to expenditure is framed.
It would be interesting (to say the least) to take a critical look at CE's annual accounts.
We have had residence from Manchester Road and Lacey Green complaining about blocked driveways and pavements.
CE is the worst Council in the Country for sure and things definitely need changing this year.
Ribia Nisa
Interesting to see one of the ‘other roles’ that our councillor Don Stockton must spend time on - thereby laving less time for the mundane ‘bread and butter’ tasks of a councillor - that of sorting out dirty gutters, blocked drains and similar ‘small’ issues that irritate the residents under his jurisdiction. Time for a change at the next council elections.
The race is on, but I don’t suppose CEC have a clue about transportation strategy for the borough.
I’m forecasting that we will get more carparking when it’s no longer required, unless we sack many of our our present Conservative Cllrs who have taken us all for a ride for far too long. They take our fares but don’t take us to the destination we have paid for.
I believe that making an entry and exit onto the A34 would technically be viable but the cost would be exorbitant so highly unlikely to happen.
Scandal! And when she gets the information it reveals that we are being taken to the cleaners to subsidise cheaper or zero parking fees elsewhere. And the solutions can is being kicked down the (potholed and obstructed) road.
Thanks! To Toni Fox for working on our behalf..
Everyone seems to have forgotten, that when paying with a mobile, CEC will receive a percentage of this payment, which costs more than paying cash.
So those who are mobile besotted, are giving the council more money, which is not stated in the figures as a separate item.
Terry is right though. The high street is changing and transportation is changing. Young people are driving less and learning to drive less. The high street is contracting and moving from a goods economy to a service economy as people buy online and at out of town centres. We need to be planning for the 2030s not the 1980s... they aren't coming back.