Parish councillors are far from impressed by the new regime that Waitrose are introducing at The Parade car park, which they took over management of in April 2015.
The supermarket is introducing refundable charges for Waitrose customers and reducing the maximum stay to ninety minutes.
The current charges are 50p per hour with a two hour maximum stay and no return within two hours.
The new prices and waiting times will be free of charge for 20 minutes, 50p for one hour and £1 for the maximum stay of ninety minutes, which will be reimbursed when customers spend over a certain amount in the supermarket.
The new regime, designed to encourage a greater churn of vehicles in the 58 space car park, will be effective from Monday 15th August.
Councillor Craig Browne met with the new store manager Frank Young on Friday, 29th July, to discuss the new parking charges along with a number of other issues.
Speaking at the Parish Council meeting on Monday, 1st August, Cllr Browne said "I've raised with him the negative impact that I believe reducing the maximum stay period will have.
"Whilst I recognise Waitrose is under no obligation to provide parking for other businesses, some of these small independent businesses do rely on customers of Waitrose being able to park long enough that they can visit other shops as well.
"Otherwise going forward I think there is a danger that they will simply choose to do all of their shopping out of town, meaning that both Waitrose and the independent retailers lose out.
"I did raise these points with Frank Young. He promised to monitor and review the situation but he believes that for now the change is necessary as their own monitoring has shown that some people use the car park without entering the supermarket."
He added "He clearly has a concern that people are taking up spaces that people who come to shop at Waitrose may otherwise use.
"My initial thoughts on this are that the impact would be quite negative on the village as a whole."
Councillor Rachael Grantham said "I can understand from Waitrose's point of view why they don't want people parking in their car park and shopping somewhere else but in a week where we have lost Mr Simms, another independent business in the village, it's a shame they are making it even more difficult to shop in the centre the village."
Councillor Christine Munro commented "As Waitrose is considered to be such a community friendly organisation this isn't very community minded.
"I know they've got to think about their business but thinking about the business is also thinking about everybody else. People shop for other things they cannot get at Waitrose, such as hairdressing, so it's a question of us all working together in order to make Alderley Edge a vibrant village and by doing this it's just killing that, I think."
Councillor Craig Browne has approached some of the businesses in the village to try and canvass their thoughts, so he is waiting to hear what they have to say, but in the meantime the Parish Council agreed to put together a written response communicating their position and thoughts on what has been proposed.
Craig added "In Wilmslow they have the existing two hour regime so it seems as though this is a departure from their policy."
During his meeting with Frank Young, Councillor Browne also discussed the pavements surrounding the store.
Craig told fellow councillors "He confirmed that the uneven flags leading down the slope from the entrance on London Road, which a number of residents have contacted me about, have been reported and are to be reset over the next 4-6 weeks.
"He also confirmed that Waitrose accepts responsibility for the footpath and steps that lead through from Waitrose to West Street and that sweeping and tidying and cleaning up of that footpath will be added to their regular maintenance programme."
At time of publication I am waiting for a comment from Waitrose.
What do you think about the new charges for the Parade car park?
Will the fact you'll be reimbursed for shopping at Waitrose encourage you to do so more frequently?
Will the 90 minute maximum stay impact on your use of other local businesses?
Share your views via the comment box below.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
They're reimbursing the parking charges and we can park there for a maximum of 90 minutes ....... What more do you want ?
How long does it take to shop there ? ...... 15 minutes ? ...... 30 minutes ?
You'll still have 1 hour to go to other shops in the village after that.
Perfect.
I think Waitrose are correct with the changes.
The councillors should be more concerned about the parking issue as a whole in the village,
which will only be exacerbated should the proposed Ryleys Lane housing development go ahead.
Having lived here all my life and had the business in the village for 10years some drastic changes are required firstly in the the parking situation as this has become a critical situation now, and secondly in making the village more attractive for visitors during the daytime. At the moment it just seems to attract visitors in the evening due to the poor ratio of interesting independent shops verses eateries.
After all, they've been in office now for well over 1 year.
but yet some of the parking outside the new Doctors Surgery on Talbot Road ? (I think it's Talbot Road) have a new restriction of 30 minutes maximum ...........
When visiting that surgery, having a limit of 30 minutes maximum parking is a joke.
You can sit for most of that 30 minutes just in the waiting room, never mind seeing the Doctor.
Who is responsible for this, the Parish Council or the Cheshire East Council ?
Surely 1 hour or 2 hours, similar to other road parking areas around the village.