Plans for new town centre multi-storey car park 'dead in the water’

Plans to build a new multi-storey car park in Wilmslow town centre at a cost of £9m have been put on hold.

Cheshire East was considering building a 403-space multi-storey car park to replace the current council-owned car park at Broadways Meadows which has 272 spaces and is aimed at long stay occupiers.

However, Cheshire East Council says that currently the financial viability of a new multi storey car park constructed on the existing surface car park has not been demonstrated and pressure on the current car park.

A report prepared for the Economy and Growth Committee meeting on Wednesday, 13th September, stated "Our most recent monitoring information (July 2022) indicates that current usage of town centre car parks is at 106% of pre-pandemic levels, with parking charging income at 98% of pre-pandemic levels. However, as a result of accommodating a high proportion of long-stay parking, Broadway Meadow continues to operate significantly below pre-pandemic levels. In June 2022, Broadway Meadows recorded occupancy at 40% compared to March 2020.

"Like many towns in the borough, there has been a decline in the average duration of stay in car parks with long-stay parking reduced whilst short stay parking has returned to levels greater than pre-pandemic. These trends are now quite stable and are considered to represent changes in lifestyles and behaviours that may be considered long-term."

Councillor Lawson supported the proposal that a further review of the viability of a new multi-storey car park will be undertaken in 12 months. Speaking about the current situation, post Covid he said "Since then we've had a lot of people working from home.

"One of the biggest employers in the centre is the Information Commissioners Office which was recently in the press that they only had about 10% of their staff working at any one time. We've seen Royal London insurance close from their site and lose 2000 jobs from Wilmslow which have now gone to Alderley Park. We've also seen Avanti West take over the train service down to London from Virgin and their experiencing lots of difficulties and reduced the number of direct trains from Wilmslow to Euston as well.

"So the pressures for more car parking have just got an awful lot less as it were and the current car park is not at capacity there are spaces, there are spaces there in the morning and we can't justify building a multi-storey for more capacity that just doesn't seem to be needed at the moment at all. So I welcome the report, I welcome we will look at this next year to see if anything does significantly change and whether this decision stands but at the moment I don't think it is necessary to build this car park."

Councillor Don Stockton said "Under the previous regime I was of course portfolio holder for Highways and we did in fact have a Wilmslow Parking Review."

He added "The Broadway Meadow, which came up that its business case would be reviewed in the interim, has caused none of the Wilmslow parking measures to be place. We've just looked at investment in Crewe from the town fund, congratulations well done you've got some investment, and I look at Wilmslow and see a plan for a multi-storey car park that is dead in the water.

"I don't really see the sense of carrying on with a further review as that will put off whatever recommendations were in the Wilmslow Parking Review ever happening because they've been used I could used the term as an excuse to put off doing anything on the ground in Wilmslow in regard to parking since the Wilmslow Parking Review was completed."

Councillor David Jefferay "The Wilmslow Parking Review there were three recommendations - firstly to put yellow lines on Alderley Road, outside the Coach & Four, the second one was to do the feasibility study for the Broadway Meadows car park and the third one was a suite of measures which I think you are alluding to to follow on, which as Mark said before couldn't be done before Broadway Meadows because you'd just be pushing the problem to round town.

"So the lining on Alderley Road was done about six months after we were voted in, it was dealt with straight away. Then we had this which we started. Mark and I, and I think you were invited to some of the meetings and the Town Council, and we had a lot of toing and froing with Peter Skates and then Covid hit and we all know what's happened now so although it is disappointed I think it is the right decision. We cannot be spending tax payers money on something that's going to be empty."

Councillor Mark Goldsmith said "The Wilmslow Parking Review was really done at a time when there were lots of problems in the town centre and the conclusion was we couldn't fix them all with TROs and and yellow lining and we and needed extra car parking capacity. The reason why we no longer need the carpark is the reason why much of the data in the parking review is now redundant because a lot of those cars have disappeared.

"There are still a lot of problems in the town centre but I think we can fix them through conventional TRO means and is ward members, if we are still here next year as well, will all get ward members budgets to spend locally on these such schemes as well. I think we have all given a budget which allows us to do one TRO a year at least. So therefore, regardless of highways, we all have the power to fix a lot of these problems ourselves."

Members of the committee voted unanimously to accept the recommendation that a further review of the viability of a new multi-storey car park will be undertaken in 12 months, and alternative options of funding delivery and potential alternative locations will be explored.

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