Motorists in Cheshire East are facing a shake-up with over 400,000 drivers affected by the new parking fees. From December, most of the council-run car parks, previously free of charge, will introduce fees.
In line with the cashless society trend, payment will be via card or the RingGo app, with only one facility in each town taking cash. Councillor Mark Goldsmith, highways and transport committee chair, commented on the changes: “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.”
He highlighted the costs of upkeeping the car parks saying: “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.”
Goldsmith also pointed out that the revisions in parking charges will support other services. “These changes to parking will also provide financial support to other council services, such as road 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.”
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.”
He added, “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.”
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