New charges drive motorists away from car parks and on to nearby streets
Cheshire East says it is monitoring problems as charges have driven motorists off the car parks and on to nearby streets – and will brief councillors about it behind closed doors.
The council introduced charges in its previously free towns and villages, including Prestbury, Poynton, Alsager, Audlem, Disley, Handforth, Holmes Chapel, Middlewich, and Sandbach, at the beginning of December.
Some drivers are now boycotting the car parks and parking on the street.
Calls from Poynton councillor Mike Sewart (Con) at yesterday's (April 3) meeting of the highways and transport committee for the problem to be discussed at the next committee meeting were refused.
Cllr Sewart told the meeting he had asked officers for details about displaced parking and was told this information wasn't really available until six months' operation, which would be June 2.
"Now, we've got a committee meeting in June…" said Cllr Sewart.
"Could we have a discussion of displacement cars from car parks and the receipt from the car parks in the former free towns on that committee?"
Committee chair Mark Goldsmith (Wilmslow, Ind) replied: "The advice I'm getting [from officers] is that we're happy to do an informal briefing on that to talk with anybody concerned.
"My understanding is that the enforcement officers are monitoring the displacement on a weekly basis, so they are building into a case for that.
"There will be no real decision for the committee to take on those, because there's no blanket decision for them.
"They'll be on a case-by-case, town-by-town basis… so it's not really something to bring back to the committee on this one."
Alsager councillor Rod Fletcher (Lib Dem) said this has become dangerous on Station Road, where recently introduced charges on the Well Lane car park have driven motorists on to the road.
The car park, which has just 18 spaces, was provided by Alsager Urban District Council years ago to allow local residents to park off the busy Station Road.
Cllr Fletcher said: "If you approach Station Road from Well Lane, you cannot see if traffic is coming from the right. This is dangerous."
He emailed highways officers, including photos to illustrate the problem, and asked what action could be taken.
The response from highways was: "The parking team carried out displacement surveys starting on February 14, 2023, all throughout 2024, and into 2025.
"I can confirm from the data held from these surveys, which were conducted on differing days/times, shows the vehicle numbers have remained at a consistent number.
"Due to the data held, I see no dramatic increase in problematic parking since the introduction of parking charges."
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