Agency by William Gibson 
“Residents are going to have to suffer” with nowhere free to park near their homes, a councillor has warned, with just two weeks to go before charges are introduced across the borough.
Concerns have been raised that drivers will choose to park in side streets instead of paying a fee for the car parks, causing “mayhem” for people with no off-street parking at their homes and for those with disabilities.
Charges are due to come into effect from 8th October at all car parks that are currently free, as part of Cheshire East Council’s budget cutting strategy.
It increased fees for drivers using Congleton’s car parks in July, by as much as 169% in some parts of town, including West Street where the cost of a full day rose from £1.60 to £4.30.
Coun Rob Moreton, who was kicked off the decision-making committee at the council just days before the vote was taken on whether to introduce the charges, has started a petition against its further proposal to include evenings and Sunday charging.
Following the price hike, he said it was already clear that drivers who usually used West Street car park were avoiding the extra fee and parking in side streets instead.
He said: “Since the over-inflationary charges, this area has become more problematic due to residents not being able to afford it.
“I wasn’t surprised to see that the car park was virtually empty when I drove around the area today (last Tuesday) and that the entrance was crowded with double-parked cars on Crescent Road.”
He said the junction had always been “dangerous” for drivers to navigate safely, as well as for pedestrians with wheelchairs, walking aids or pushchairs walking to nearby Marlfields Primary School.
“This avoidance will only increase, if as planned, the council implements night-time and Sunday charges. Let’s hope fire engines or ambulances don’t need to attend to any incidents on this road,” he said.
Coun Chris Venables told a meeting of Alsager Town Council last Tuesday that he had been approached by residents on Station Road and Well Lane in the town, after being told that double yellow lines were due to be painted on the road, ahead of parking meters being installed in the nearby car parks.
He said: “People who don’t have frontage to their houses will have nowhere to park. They will have no option but to pay for a £640 annual permit to use the car park, which may well go up in price if they introduce charges to evenings and weekends as well.
“Why is it that Crewe and Nantwich all have residents’ parking passes at reduced rates, but Alsager hasn’t been offered those?”
Coun Michael Unett responded that the town council had been warning Cheshire East to consider mitigation measures “from the very beginning”, but that the authority had identified the issue as “amber” (rather than red or green), meaning that no action would be taken until the impact of the charges could be seen.
He said: “It looks as if they are not going to be interested in doing anything. Unfortunately, residents are going to have to suffer displacement of cars before Cheshire East will even talk to us about possible mitigations like parking permits.”
Coun Venables said: “There is going to be absolute mayhem and they won’t be able to cope with requests for permits coming forward.”
Wheelchair user Tony Weston, who lives near Alsager town centre, said: “I do not have off-street parking and therefore I am totally dependent on nearby streets. I have a condition where my health is deteriorating and I struggle to walk beyond 20-30 yards.
“The only mitigation shown in the proposal is that people with blue badges displayed, can use the council car parks free of charge. That in itself is useless to people who can’t get to and from the car park from their houses.
“There was no plan from day one to have residents’ permits or disabled parking bays in nearby streets, so it is clearly discriminatory against those residents, whether they are disabled or not, but especially to disabled residents.”
Cheshire East Council was asked to comment.
