Last chance to have your say on parking proposals

Last month Alderley Edge Parish Council presented their parking review and strategy which was followed by a consultation document which they hope to develop into a more comprehensive strategy addressing the current and future parking needs of the village.

Having reviewed the Alderley Edge Parish Council Car Parking Review consultation document local residents and workers are encouraged to complete the Feedback Form, which is available to download here, in the next few days.

Councillor Ilana Higham said "We have had a really encouraging response so far, however we still need as many responses as possible.

"There is still time to fill yours in as we have now extended the deadline to Monday 8th February at 5pm."

You can fill in the survey online or pick up a paper copy at Granthams, the library or at Aldeli.

The results of the consultation will be reported back at a Feedback Meeting to be held at Alderley Edge Methodist Church on Thursday 11th February where Alderley Edge Parish Council hope to see as many people as possible for a 7pm start.

Click here to view the Alderley Edge Parish Council Car Parking Review consultation document.

Below is a reminder of the proposals put together by the Parish Council which they feel will provide the most cost‐ effective solutions.

These proposals will add new parking spaces to serve the refurbished Festival Hall and Medical Centre, add new spaces for long stay parking (primarily for those who work in the village) and reconfigure existing village centre car parking (South Street car park the Ryleys Lane Car Park) to provide more short term car parking.

Their recommended solution centres on creating two new car parks:

Heyes Lane

• Providing 44 car parking spaces.

• This will also include an access road to the Festival Hall to relieve traffic pressures on Stamford and Talbot Roads.

• It will provide additional car parking space for the Festival Hall and Medical Centre

• This solution results in the loss of about 25% of the allotment space.

• According to their consultants the cost would be £200,000, giving a cost per space of £4545.

Chorley Hall Lane

• Providing 100 parking spaces on the lower end of the playing fields.

• This will provide long stay car parking spaces for those working in the village.

• From the work the Parish Council has done so far they feel this is the lowest cost site available and would not result in any loss of amenity to sports clubs using Chorley Hall Lane Playing Fields.

• According to their consultants the cost would be £374,000, giving a cost per space of £3740.

Changes to existing car parks

• South Street will be reconfigured to short term parking only. In due course existing all‐day parking agreements will be phased out.

• Ryleys Lane, which is currently free to use and lacks any formal parking spaces, will – once Chorley Hall Lane Car Park is established – be reconfigured for short term parking.

The Parish Council has also identified further options which will need addressing as the parking strategy develops. These are:

• Schools Drop‐Off and Pick‐Up Initiative

• Re‐assessing Residents Parking Surplus

• Seeking out incremental space gains (from small one or two space areas to much larger 30‐40 space areas privately or commercially owned)

• Renting out day time space on residential drives

• Walking or Cycling – Provision of Cycle Racks in the Village

• Effective Employers Car Share Schemes

• Improvements in Public Transport

Images: Proposed layout of car parks at Heyes Lane, Chorley Hall Lane and Ryleys Lane.

Tags:
Alderley Edge Parish Council, Car Parking Review, Parking , Parking
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Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

Vin Sumner
Sunday 7th February 2016 at 2:14 pm
Dear Parish Council ( Response to survey )

I am writing in response to your survey in terms of parking proposals as both a resident and and a local (non retail) business owner.

Whist I am sure the PC has positive intent in making the village a better place, I am strongly of the view that the current response to the “parking situation” is fundamentally flawed and whilts not solving the perceived “problem” will only result in more tarmac for no good reason. In particular:

- There is no clarity of process or decision making other than general comments about democracy and consultation. I would like to understand how decisions are going to be made and on what basis.

- Solutions to the “parking situation” seem to have been formulated ahead of a full understanding of what the real problem is in the village and based on little real evidence.

- The PC would do better to consider “transport and mobility” in the village as a whole rather than constructing the question “Where do we tarmac? “

- In my opinion the main “parking” problem in the village is not lack of car parks, but the wholly selfish behaviour of many motorists who park illegally or in dangerous places, normally because they can’t be bothered walking for 5 mins. These include

o Parents dropping off at schools around Ryleys/Brook Lanes
o Parents and the school bus parking in Heyes Lane
o Taxis parking on pavement on London Road
o Delivery vehicles parking on pavement / double yellow on London Road
o Business staff and visitors parking on pavements in Heyes Lane and London Road
o Building Contractors parking on pavement/double yellow
o General motorists parking on double yellows / at junctions / across pelican crossings/ on pavement … in Heyes Lane/ London Road / Clifton Street / Chorley Hall Lane and the rest.
Until enforcement is addressed in a coherent way by the relevant organisations then talking about other parking schemes is just futile.

- I am not convinced that lack of all day parking is a real problem that justifies more tarmac. There is a suggestion that the staff in local businesses will pay £5 for parking; where does that come from?, none of my staff would do that, they will just park a bit further away and walk.

- In terms of short term parking then surely more agile solutions, like better enforcement, removal of residents parking, removal of double yellow lines and working closely with likes of Waitrose and others on more attractive short term parking approaches, will all cost less and save green spaces.

- There appears to be an argument put forward that the Festival Hall needs more parking spaces. Might I suggest that a review is undertaken of the spaces allocated to the Medical Centre, as they would appear to be excessive. In addition, perhaps there could be more active encouragement for those able to walk to Festival Hall events.

On the basis of the above I cannot support any of the “car park” proposals put forward by the PC , but am supportive of some of then more “agile” and “progressive” solutions such as drive parking etc, alluded to by the PC in some comments but not mentioned in the survey.

Best

Vin
Peter Watson
Tuesday 9th February 2016 at 12:25 am
I totally agree with you Vin, it would be very wrong to tarmac over green spaces until every other possibility had been exhausted.
Vin Sumner
Tuesday 9th February 2016 at 12:34 pm
Peter , an additional point is that many of the lighter weight ideas are reversible if they do t work. Green space to Tarmac is for sure not , it's normally followed by more Tarmac and bricks :-)
Vin
Peter Watson
Tuesday 9th February 2016 at 7:21 pm
There is also the cost implication as well Vin. It will cost the village nothing to get rid of some yellow lines or residents parking spaces. How much will it cost to encourage people to make some money by renting out their drives? Does it cost anything to get the schools to take responsibility for their negative impact on the village? I don't see any cost in ensuring that planning permission is only given if it comes with sufficient parking to fulfil the needs of the development.

With all that saved money, maybe we could carry on subsidising the Festival Hall which has not turned a profit since we bought it for a quid from a very savvy CEC.