Cheshire East Council is seeking views on proposed increases to the borough's parking charges.
The statutory consultation opened today (20 September) and will run for six weeks until 1 November 2023.
Parking charges have only been increased once since Cheshire East was formed in 2009 which the Council says is no longer sustainable as the rate of inflation means that the costs of maintaining, managing and operating car parks has significantly increased.
The council is proposing four key initiatives, which it says would deliver greater consistency of tariffs and support town centre vitality.
Parking proposals to be consulted on include:
- Introduce parking charges in some car parks where parking is currently free
- Increase current parking charges by the rate of inflation in some car parks across the borough.
- Reducing parking charges in some car parks due to their location and usage.
- Changes to the limited waiting bay periods at certain on-street locations.
The parking proposals do not affect Blue Badge holders.
Councillor Craig Browne, Cheshire East Council deputy leader and chair of the council's highways and transport committee, said: "The inherited legacy where some residents pay to park and others do not has caused a sense of unfairness.
"The council is proposing to address this imbalance – taking into account each town's characteristics – while also responding to the higher costs of maintaining our car parks, which require regular resurfacing, improved lighting and markings and the installation of EV charging points.
"It is important to us that we get as much feedback as possible to these proposals and I hope our residents, and businesses, will take this opportunity to feed into this consultation."
Below are the proposals being put forward for Alderley Edge, Handforth and Wilmslow.
Alderley Edge
South Street is a short stay car with 47 spaces, including 2 disabled spaces. The maximum stay is 4 hours and it is free after 3pm.
The existing tariff
- Up to 1 hour - 50p
- Up to 2 hours - 90p
- Up to 3 hours - £1.90
- Up to 4 hours - £2.20
Proposed Tariff
- Up to 1 hour - 80p
- Up to 2 hours - £1.40
- Up to 3 hours - £2
- Up to 4 hours - £2.70
Ryleys Lane car park is intended for long stay and has 34 spaces, including 2 disabled ones. It is currently free and the maximum length of stay is 10.
Proposed Tariff
Short Stay - 10 bays (the row of spaces nearest the park) would be allocated for short stay (i.e., up to two hours).
- Up to 1 hour - £1
- Up to 2 hours - £1.60
Long Stay
- Up to 1 hour - £1
- Up to 2 hours - £1.60
- Up to 3 hours - £2.30
- Up to 4 hours - £3.30
- 4-6 hours - £4.40
- 6-10 hours - £5.20
Handforth
The Council proposals to introduce parking charges in Handforth.
Handforth Library is a short stay car with 46 spaces, including 3 disabled spaces. The maximum duration of stay at Handforth Library car park is proposed to be reduced from 10 hours to 3 hours.
Proposed Tariff
- Up to 1 hour - 60p
- Up to 2 hours - £1
- Up to 3 hours - £1.50
School Road is a short stay car with 48 spaces, including 1 disabled spaces.
Proposed Tariff
- Up to 1 hour - 80p
- Up to 2 hours - £1.40
- Up to 3 hours - £2
- Up to 4 hours - £2.70
- Up to 6 hours - £3.70
- Up to 10 hours - £4.30
Wilmslow Road is a short stay car with 56 spaces, including 3 disabled spaces.
Proposed Tariff
- Up to 1 hour - 60p
- Up to 2 hours - £1
- Up to 3 hours - £2.30
- Up to 4 hours - £3.30
- Up to 6 hours - £4.40
- Up to 10 hours - £5.20
Handforth Town Council have issued the following response to the proposals
"Whilst HTC appreciate the requirement for CE to adjust their parking restrictions and charges periodically, Handforth Town Council feel that the time to change any regimes in Handforth Town Council is, at present, premature. There will inevitably be increasing disparity between CEC managed car parking and that displacement will occur unless agreement can be found with the third-party operators before change of any regime or restrictions occurs.
"Alongside problems between public / privately managed car parks across the Town, HTC are also aware that once the new station car park (fully supported by HTC) is built, then the management of this car park will not be borne by CEC, but the management company eventually employed by the new Handforth Garden Village. Once again, this company will introduce its own charging restrictions / regime onto the new Station car park which will have a knock-on effect to the existing off-street parking available in Handforth.
"These are the two largest reasons why Handforth Town Council cannot support any change of CEC charging regimes in Handforth in their current form at this time, as the Town Council believe that it would be premature to change the regime until a holistic agreement between the various agents responsible for car parking can be agreed and the new Station car park is built."
Wilmslow
Broadway Meadow is a large car park intended for long stay with 272 spaces and 10 disabled spaces. The maximum stay is 5 days.
The existing tariff
- Up to 1 hour - 60p
- Up to 2 hours - £1.10
- Up to 3 hours - £1.80
- Up to 4 hours - £2.60
- Up to 6 hours - £3.20
- Up to 10 hours £5.60
- 1 day - £5.60
- 2 days - £11.20
- 3 days - £16.80
- 4 days - £22.40
- 5 days - £28
Proposed Tariff
- Up to 1 hour - 60p
- Up to 2 hours - £1
- Up to 3 hours - £1.50
- Up to 4 hours - £2.10
- Up to 6 hours - £3
- Up to 10 hours - £3.40
- 1 day - £3.40
- 2 days - £6.80
- 3 days - £10.20
- 4 days £13.60
- 5 days - £17
The Rex is a large car park intended for short stay use with 132 spaces and 4 disabled spaces. The maximum stay is 4 hours but it is proposed to be reduced to 3 hours. Table 4-10.
The existing tariff
- Up to 1 hour - 70p
- Up to 2 hours - £1.10
- Up to 3 hours - £2.20
- Up to 4 hours - £3.20
- Up to 6 hours - £4
- Up to 10 hours £4.40
Proposed Tariff
- Up to 1 hour - £1
- Up to 2 hours - £1.60
- Up to 3 hours - £2.30
- Up to 4 hours - £3.20
- Up to 6 hours - £4
- Up to 10 hours £4.40
South Drive has two car parks. The majority of spaces are dedicated to short stay parking, however there is a separate, smaller long stay car park.
The short stay car park has 330 spaces and 16 disabled spaces. The maximum stay for the short stay is four hours. Whilst the long stay car park has 45 spaces and no disabled spaces. The max stay is 10 hours.
It is proposed that the short stay area of the car park will be reduced from four hours to three hours. No changes to the length of stay within the long stay area of the car park are proposed.
The existing tariff
- Up to 1 hour - 70p
- Up to 2 hours - £1.10
- Up to 3 hours - £2.20
- Up to 4 hours - £3.20
Proposed Tariff
- Up to 1 hour - £1
- Up to 2 hours - £1.60
- Up to 3 hours - £2.30
- Up to 4 hours - £2.70
- Up to 6 hours - £3.70
- Up to 10 hours £4.30
Spring Street multi-storey is a large car park intended for long stay use with 236 spaces and 22 spaces for disabled users. The max stay is 15 hours.
The existing tariff
- Up to 1 hour - 80p
- Up to 2 hours - £1.20
- Up to 3 hours - £2.40
- Up to 4 hours - £3.50
- Up to 15 hours £5.60
Proposed Tariff
- Up to 1 hour - £1
- Up to 2 hours - £1.60
- Up to 3 hours - £2.30
- Up to 4 hours - £3.30
- Up to 6 hours - £4.40
- Up to 15 hours £5.20
The Carrs is a medium sized car park intended for short stay use for most of the year from Monday to Friday, with a max stay of three hours. On Saturdays and Bank Holidays the car park is long stay with max stay of ten hours. There are 60 spaces with 2 disabled bays.
The existing tariff
- Up to 2 hours - 30p
- Up to 3 hours - 60p
- Up to 5 hours - 90p
Proposed Tariff
- Up to 1 hour - 60p
- Up to 2 hours - £1
- Up to 3 hours - £1.50
- Up to 5 hours - £2.10
The council is set to report financial pressures of £12.8m against its 2023/24 budget.
You can view all the proposals via: https://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/parking_consultation
You can also view the proposals by contacting your local library by appointment.
Representations to the proposals must be emailed to: [email protected]
Alternatively, write to Parking Services Manager, Cheshire East Council, Delamere House, Delamere Street, Crewe, CW1 2LL
The outcome of the consultation will be considered by the council's highways and transport committee in January 2024, before any decisions are made.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
I have left a voicemail to double check, but it will probably be tomorrow now that I hear back.
I believe it is correct though as the Council does state the proposals include "Reducing parking charges in some car parks due to their location and usage."
According to the report at Broadway Meadow Car park "occupancy differs little between each month, however June and October see the highest occupancy with an average of 54 vehicles between 13:00 and 14:00 for June and 12:00 and 14:00 for October. February and August have an average peak occupancy of 51 vehicles between 13:00 and 14:00."
There are 272 spaces so the occupancy peaks at just under 20%.
He explained "The reduction in charging at Broadway Meadow is correct and reflects both current occupancy levels as well as the zoning principle where patrons may expect to pay more for the convenience of parking next to the main shopping area, but pay less to park in a less convenient location where there is lower demand for the spaces."
Post-COVID, this car park is used significantly less. So it makes sense to me to reduce the price to try and encourage drivers to use it more.
The proposal is to change both car parks in Prestbury from "Free" to "Chargeable.
Are we now expected to factor in a parking fine on top of the cost of going to watch these movies and support our local cinema?