New changes at car parks in Cheshire East have gone live today (Monday 2 December).
The following changes have been introduced in Cheshire East Council car parks:
- Parking charges will come into effect at most council-owned car parks where parking is currently free. Details of the charges can be found here.
- Most car parks will become 'cash-free', meaning payment will be by debit or credit card at pay and display machines, or via the RingGo app. However, at least one car park in every town in Cheshire East will continue to accept cash payments.
Local car parks that will still accept cash payments:
- South Street, Alderley Edge
- School Road, Handforth
- South Drive (both long and short stay areas), Wilmslow
In addition, the council's residents off-street parking permit scheme has been extended to cover more areas, including Handforth and Alderley Edge.
The scheme allows residents that don't have access to off-street parking to apply for a 12-month permit for specific car parks, at a significantly reduced cost.
More information about the scheme and how to apply can be found here.
Councillor Mark Goldsmith, chair of Cheshire East Council's highways and transport committee, said: "While we recognise these new parking arrangements have caused some concerns, they are necessary to ensure all our towns are treated in a fair and equal way, and to reduce some of the financial burden facing the council.
"Each year, the cost of maintenance, management, and enforcement for all our car parks is considerable, and the costs continue to rise.
"The council, for example, pays in the region of £900,000 a year in business rates for its car parks, but 70 per cent of this is retained by central government. Therefore, it is only fair that each parking site contributes to these expenses.
"These changes to parking will also provide financial support to other council services, such as highways maintenance and bus routes. They also complement the council-wide transformation of how we deliver all our services, as we work to reduce spending by £100m over the next four years."
Cllr Goldsmith added: "Once the changes have come into effect, we will continue to monitor the situation closely across the borough so that interventions can be made where necessary.
"The extended consultation process carried out last year identified some residents that are without a driveway and also live on roads that have extensive parking restrictions. These residents have instead been using nearby free council car parks to park their vehicles.
"To address this issue, we have reviewed and extended our off-street parking permit scheme so that it applies to many more residential areas across the borough. I encourage those now eligible to find out more and consider applying."
The council's 'free after 3pm' initiative is still in place and has been extended to specific car parks in towns where charges are now being introduced.
The following local car parks are 'free after 3pm':
- Broadway Meadow, Wilmslow
- South Street, Alderley Edge
- School Road, Handforth
Free parking will also remain at a number of smaller car parks in the borough where it is not value for money to introduce pay and display.
During term time, charges for some car parks will not start until 9am during the week to allow these to be used at school drop off.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
I don't want someone else’s software on my phone so won’t have the app.
Do I park for 'free' as it isn't my fault the machine isn't in working order?
- All car parks accept payment by bank card. Either by contactless or by entering your pin number.
- South Drive also accepts cash.
- UK consumers only used cash for 12% of their transactions in 20023. Moving to a largely cashless payment system will save the council £170,000 a year.
- The RingGo App can also be used. This costs 7p extra at CEC car parks but may be more at the 10,000 other UK car parks it covers.
- I think Broadway Meadow has been a payable car park for the 25 years I have lived in Wilmslow. Therefore, I think it is justified to say it is now free after 3pm.
- Broadway Meadow is now cheaper for all-day parking and the situation in residential areas is much improved since pre-covid times. Working from home and reduced commuting to London has all helped but addressing the remaining issues is difficult.
- The Department for Transport owns our roads and views them as public property. They reason that as we all pay the same road tax, we all have the same right to park on all roads. Therefore, Wilmslow's "all-day parkers" have as much legal right to park on our residential roads as the home owners (the DfT don’t recognise any moral difference though).
Therefore, they have made it very difficult for councils to obtain new yellow lines. It is an 18-month process, where the majority of residents in the local area must agree to the new restrictions (not just those on the road to be yellow lined though). This is often difficult to obtain but without it, yellow lines cannot be installed nor parking fines enforced.
However, we have started the process for yellow lining the road corners around the Bourne Street / Buckingham Road area. The Highway Code states that parking next to a road corner is an offence, so we can install them with or without residents’ consent.
Consequently, these should be installed in 2025, which should make it safer and easier to use the roads in this area.
Cllr Mark Goldsmith
Residents of Wilmslow
So what is the procedure when the only 'CASH MACHINE' is out of action?
I don't want someone else’s software on my phone so won’t have the app.
Do I park for 'free' as it isn't my fault the machine isn't in working order?
With double yellows near junctions in mind, I hope what you said about Buckingham Rd and Bourne St will be followed by a similar upgrade at the South Oak Lane/Gravel Lane junction which is often blocked by inconsiderate drivers parking too close to the corner and causing chaos at this busy junction (it appears to be mainly either parents with children using the 'Pleasure' playing field or picking up from Ashdene school).