The first meeting of the recently formed Alderley Edge Parking Forum took place last week.
Sixty-six people attended, including local residents, business people, representatives of the three village schools and parish councillors, to discuss ways of improving the parking situation and traffic flow in Alderley Edge.
Cllr Duncan Herald, who initiated the forum as he felt it was time to be "proactive, rather than reactive", described the meeting as a success and said "several useful ideas came up".
Cllr Herald added "To show that the Parish Councillors can 'get going' here's the first positive result. The Methodist Church has a number of parking places that are excess to their need which can be rented on a first come first served basis."
Craig Brown explained to me that the Methodist Church is initially looking to rent seven spaces, although this could be increased to ten, at a cost of £55 per month. People would be able to park there from Monday to Saturday, 24 hours a day if they wished and the car park is covered by CCTV.
Speaking at this week's Parish Council meeting, Cllr Melanie Connor said "What came out of the meeting were three issues. One of which is keeping the village vibrant with the shops and restaurants. Secondly making people's lives bearable where they live, not being ruined by rude parking and illegal parking, and thirdly the schools and what can they do to try and alleviate the traffic at crucial times.
"A lot of discussion went on about double yellow lines and enforcement. The issue of Heyes Lane (allotment site) was brought up and all sixty-six people were in favour of it becoming a car park. They can see the need for car parking in the village and this is the only spot they know we can get it for long term parking."
Melanie added "There are a lot of issues and they are ruining people's lives.
"One of the issues that came out of the meeting was for the Parish Council to ask Frank Keegan, as our representative, to ask Cheshire East to push forward with all the plans they have for Alderley at the soonest convenience because people are getting very very fed up. They are at the end of their tether."
Parking on Clifton Street was also raised as an issue at the meeting.
Cllr Connor explained "Nobody is against residents having parking for the evening, what they would like to see is how it works in Trafford. If you go to Altrincham, on all the side streets that eventually come to the football club, all the residential parking there is from 6 o'clock in the evening until 8 o'clock in the morning. Then through the day one hour to two hour parking and that keeps all the little shops going.
"All the retailers want is not to to have, like we had at 10 o'clock on a Thursday morning, no cars parked on Clifton Street and people coming along not parking and leaving the village."
Cllr Frank Keegan responded "The people of Clifton Street, or anywhere else, do not have the right to expect a parking place provided to them by the Parish Council. The Chief Executive (of Cheshire East Council) thinks having given it to them it would be very difficult to alter it now."
Other suggestions discussed at the meeting included:
- Replacing the current parallel parking on one side of London Road, between Clifton Street and Stevens Street, with chevron parking. This will require the pavement to be narrowed a bit and should create 8 to 10 additional parking spaces.
- Increasing the present 1 hour parking on London Road to 2 hours, so that people have time to 'do a proper shop' instead of rushing, or replace it with some 20 minute, some 1 hour and some 2 hours bays.
- Putting single yellow lines on Macclesfield Road, from London Road to the top of the hill, as the road is narrow and parking there is perceived to be a danger or at least a serious inconvenience. Or put double yellow lines at the lower part of the road and double white lines (restricted parking) at the narrow part of the road, i.e. between Trafford Road and Red Acre.
- Extending the existing car park in Alderley Edge Park to bring it up to London Road.
- Removing the yellow lines at the bottom of West Street, to create two more parking spaces adjacent to the post box.
- Reducing the amount of parking spaces allocated to residents only, i.e. on Clifton Street, or reduce the times when these spaces are residents only.
- When the Medical Practice moves to its new site at the Festival Hall, extending the number of parking bays on George Street.
- Installing yellow lines on Lynton Lane where parking blocks access to the Lynton Court Flats, preventing bin lorries from gaining access.
- Investigating the possibility of all-day contract parking at the churches and sports club.
- Introducing a valet parking scheme where the client leaves their car at a specified site in the village centre, the valet then drives the car to out of the village and returns it at a pre-arranged time.
Cllr Melanie Connor is currently writing up the notes from the meeting, detailing which ideas are being taken forward, and those which have been dismissed (which includes chevron parking). This will be followed by a report on how Cheshire East Council responded to the ideas.
What do you think about the suggestions discussed and the parking issues in the village? Share your views via the comment box below?
Cllr Duncan Herald can be contacted via the comment box below, or email, if you would like to be involved in the Parking Forum.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
In this way residents can remain parked all day and once they drive off they can only be assured of a place after 5:30pm which should suit most.
Shoppers will have the chance of free brief parking and if they wish to stay for longer then the cost of the car parks should be insignificant in relation to their purchases.
This will need to be addressed soon as people are parking further and further from London Road to avoid cost - I live 10minutes walk away and already find cars parked outside my home and I consider Frank Keegan's comment that the council shouldn't have to provide free parking for residents arrogantly selfish - we don't all have the benefit of large properties with off street parking Frank!
Parking Spaces on owned or rented property are part of the deal and so financed by the owner/tennant. Property prices in streets such as Clifton Street must reflect this.
Empty spaces are very annoying to those wishing to visit the village especially during businesss hours.
I think Cheshire East has acted wrongly in this case and Cllr Keegan should get it put right for the vast majority of his 4000 electors.
A report of the meeting will be available shortly; it will not be put into a filing cabinet, instead it will be offered to alderleyedge.com.
At the meeting some ideas were shown to be impractical and/or too expensive (including one of mine! damn!) and so were given up on.
The report will list all the other ideas put forward and you can speak up to say yay or nay to them.
We have begun; see above re. Craig Browne... and I've approached Father Matthew of St. Pious RC Church on Stamford Rd., to see if something similar is possible.
We are also now pressing for the 'lines and signs' on London Rd. and the ones just off London Rd. to be made clear and consistent... and then enforcement can occur. By the way, C.E. are out-sourcing (silly term!) parking enforcement to a commercial organisation I believe; I don't have a date for that.
As for lines on Macc. Rd. and Lynton Lane... those would be new lines/signs and so there's some sort of legal thing to go through, so that will take time I'm afraid.
All this will cost money... I don't care ... I believe that Alderley Edge has for too long been a 'cash cow'... and there's all that lovely section 106 money available.
As ought occurs, it will be added, so 'watch this spot'... thanks Lisa.
1. In region of 100 cars parked in Alderley all day and everyday, these include office workers, shop workers, school staff and also park and ride for Manchester.
2. Due to 1, this cause more issue with school runs and the road become more dangerous.
3. Due to 1, emergency and refuge vehicles have had incidents when they can access the part of the road.
If we stop 1 without providing a viable solution it will mean that many of the workers in the village will struggle to come to Alderley to work. Thus slowly killing the village by forcing workers away or business having to pay more to support the extra cost to the staff travelling to Alderley to work.
When I worked in Alderley, up to May 2013 St Pious were already issuing paid parking permits at a cost at that time of £100.00 per quarter.I had one because if I arrived for work any later than 8.15am there would be no parking available and I needed the security of having parking available.
As far as the allotments are concerned, I would build the car park there and a link road to Heyes Lane first, and then all the builders vehicles and delivery vehicles for the building of the medical centre could utilise it without putting further strain on the surrounding area.
Maybe the cricket club be willing to rent day spaces at a low enough fee to attract regular workers? The car park is virtually unused during the day.
Wherever free road parking is restricted will just push drivers further out on to our residential roads causing width restrictions and danger to other road users and pedestrians.
Hi Peter... yes I know that the Church rents out parking spaces already but when I spoke with Father Matthew I think he told me that there was a chance of more spaces being rented, more regularly. I'll let you know the result of our future converse on that.
Hi Helen... traffic surveys have been done in the past... then not much seems to happen?... it would be 'green' if we all walked/cycled; I don't think that's going to happen, do you?
There is a parking problem; we can debate as to the cause but still somehow the parking problem needs to be dealt with (if only I had a magic wand to wave) and that's what I'm hoping the result of the public Forum will help with.
Would any of the Clifton St. residents like to comment here on whether or not their rights re. parking there might be voluntarily 'eased'?
Onwards & Upwards.
Our customers are driving past empty spaces and are unable to park there. This must be immensely frustrating for them.
Many people over the last year have parked there unaware of the new restrictions and have been ticketed. Yes they should look at the signs, but there has been one hour parking on the street for 50 years, and many drivers have not been aware of the changes.
The village shops would greatly appreciate support for returning Clifton Street back into a one or two hour parking zone .... along side the resident scheme.
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Further many drivers park the corners unaware that this is contrary to the
Highway code.I would suggest that parking should be restricted to 2 hours.
I am sorry that I did not know about the meeting that took place and ask that my comments be considered.
If this is the case, then it is very naieve to say "it's unneighbourly" for motorists to park there.
If a car is roadworthy, Taxed, MOT'd and Insured, then it is the owners right to park there, provided it's parked correctly and not contravening any rules of the road or breaking the law.
(if these roads are private, then, yes, I agree with you)
Motorists have to park somewhere if visiting or working in the village, so this parking situation will get worse, not better, so in future, more cars will be parked on more roads that are on the outskirts of the village.
No one has the right to say motorists cannot park on "their" road if cars are legally allowed.
Peter Liddle speaks very validly on behalf of many residents in Alderley Edge about two issues which are being confused.
Issue 1 - is on street parking in a residential area. No one complains, per se, but they do complain when the parking impedes access to drives, or when it causes difficulties in the free movement of other traffic. It is not OK to abandon a car on a residential street with no thought of how those who live there are to move around.
Issue 2 - Peter Liddle and others, have provided themselves off street parking. When they drive into the village, they suddenly found that Clifton Street was now a “no parking zone” for shoppers. Rights had been given away without the residents of say, Windermere and Redesmere being consulted.
Who says that is fair? It is time for Cheshire East to revisit the parking schemes which were set up, and to strike a balance which is fair, firstly to the retail vitality of the village, secondly to the residents of Alderley Edge who want to park and shop, and lastly, to the residents of streets like Clifton Street who bought properties without a parking spot and now find the value of their property enhanced at the expense of others - not least the retail vitality.
You are the one who is twisting what I said ........... I said any motorist is allowed to park on any road here, provided the car is roadworthy, MOT'd, insured and taxed, and that the place where it is being parked is conforming to all the legal requirements and obeying the law.
So, your statement saying such things as "blocking drives" etc, is just confusing the issue.
(Of course that is "unneighbourly" and breaking the law, but I didn't say that)
I also did not say it was fair that Clifton Street should be reserved for Permit Holders only.
Clifton Street should be 1 hour parking for all motorists, so let me be quite clear about that.
Is this really a balanced view? Why do you still insist on ignoring the recommendations made by CEC report on Parking in Alderley Edge ?
What is the cost of the car park, who is paying for it and how many car park spaces will be available?
Have you thought of the congestion it will cause on Heyes Lane?
Duncan are you then proposing the car park on Heyes Lane will be free?
Hi Fiona... be fair... there is no suggestion that 63 people constitute a survey, but it is indicative that a cross section of 63 members of the A/E public did not seem unduly concerned about the possibility of a car park on Heyes Lane...why might a car park there cause congestion on Heyes Lane?... by the CEC report do you mean the report issued in 2011?... I have read it... I note that its to-do list hasn't become much of a done-list!... and I am suspicious of its figures (as I am a cynic about 'official' figures anyway and more so about CEC figures that add up to 'do nowt'!).
I'm not saying that a vote should have been taken, in fact there could have been a danger of the whole meeting turning into yet another discussion over whether a car park should be built on the allotment site. My point is that Melanie is reported as saying that "the issue of Heyes Lane (allotment site) was brought up and all sixty-six people were in favour of it becoming a car park". That is not true, and there is no evidence to support that statement. By the way, I am not one of those who has been campaigning against the proposal. As previously mentioned I think that there are still a number of major obstacles in its path, and I reserve judgment until there is more clarity as to whether on balance it would be a good thing for the village. Some more confidence as to whether motorists would actually use it would help, and that in turn is a function of other issues such as parking charges and restrictions, and also effective enforcement.
The car park at the F.Hall still 'belongs' to CE, though they recently reimbursed payees there, as a prelude to handing the car park over to the PC... I have suggested to my colleagues that we might then advertise that car park as very low cost/free and when people use it, that would be evidence that a car park on the allotments would be viable..which is what you seek?.... alas the time pressure re. using the car park and not using it as the builders are 'in', for the Medical Centre, may preclude that experiment.
The gloomiest prognostication is that if nought is done re. parking, the village will end up gridlocked so people will stop coming to the village, so shops would close etc. doom etc.
Cheshire East do own the site, and they have placed a second restrictive covenant on the site (the first covenant was from the original donor of the site) saying that it must remain as allotment gardens.
Why is the Parish Council still claiming it has the freedom to turn Heyes Lane allotment site into a car park?
During the evening is a different matter.If a bar/restaurant decides to open and provides say twenty covers without parking facilities should the PC bend to provide such.
Personally I would leave things as they are, I think the allotment car park is more to do with a bigger plan of when a few more thousand houses are built.
Where do you park for free all day, and never have a problem finding a space?
http://bit.ly/1igt5SM
The double yellow lines are proposed, by C.E., to be extended up Congleton Rd. and there is a C.E.proposal to put H bars on Lynton Lane ... to be fair, I think that the Condleton Rd. yellow lines was already in the pipeline, so we won't take credit for that one... but good news is good news eh?
The safety and quality of pavement routes needs to be improved, as does the provision of public transport.
Already in the pipeline are double yellows for Congleton Road, H bars for Trafford Road, double yellows for part of Macc Road at the pinch point and double whites at the top of Macc Road. Plus H bars for Lynton Lane plus double yellows on the corners of entrances.
I, like Chris above, have never had trouble parking in Alderley, whether during the day, on weekdays, in the evenings, at night, at the weekend, before or after Christmas. However, I don't park for free, I pay, except on those occasions when I am only staying for a couple of hours and a parking space is available on, say, Stamford Road. If I am going to the supermarket or for dinner or to Beauty Works, then the car park on South Street has never failed to deliver.
In my view (forgive me for repeating something you may have already read me saying), people who park illegally, whether to pick up the kids from school or to have a pizza for three hours, will always park illegally. A car park on Heyes Lane, or even at the Festival Hall which is shockingly under-utilised as it stands, is not going to change this. Can you even imagine mothers to park on Hayes Lane and walk to the Ryleys to meet their kids?
1. the potholes in the Park's car park are now filled in with tarmac: thanks to the Parks Officers for that.
2. According to the plan I've seen, the double yellow lines to be extended up Congleton Rd. will reach as far as : on the right hand side, up to approx. the brow of the hill and on the left hand side, a little less distance, up to approx. the top end of St. Hillary's. Don't yet know when, by I'm sure it will be soon.