Cheshire East Council's Wilmslow parking survey due to begin

Cheshire East Council’s long-awaited Wilmslow parking survey is expected to launch before the end of the month.

It will give residents, businesses and commuters the chance to have their say on one of the town’s biggest hot potatoes – and borough chiefs will use the feedback to try and improve parking.

Cllr Gary Barton, Conservative member for Wilmslow West and Chorley, said: “I think it is long overdue, but it is very welcome. It has taken a lot of work to get to this point.

“Parking problems have been getting worse in Wilmslow for three or four years now, there has been an increase in parking on residential roads and in the centre of town car parks are full from 8.30am.

“In the past the problem has been looked at on an ad-hoc, one-by-one basis, but we have got to the stage where we cannot do that anymore.

“We need a more strategic view of the issue as car ownership continues to go up, more houses are built and the population increases.”

CEC first commissioned the survey last September in response to the growing concerns of residents and businesses in town about a lack of suitable parking spaces.

Cllr Barton says that for him and his fellow town centre ward councillors, it is a topic that dominates conversation.

He added: “I would say that for me, Ellie [Brooks] and Rod [Menlove], at least 50 per cent of the correspondence we get is to do with parking one way or another.

“It is not a quick process and we are grateful that people understand why we are being methodical about it.

“We hope that the survey shows we are now getting to the stage where real action is coming to fruition – not just the behind the scenes stuff.”

Cllr Barton says that the survey will not just ‘dictate a solution’ for the town’s parking woes – with feedback from the survey set to direct future policies.

However, it is expected that there could be some ideas put forward for known parking problem areas, such as Gravel Lane and Buckingham Road – while work is already under way to put yellow lines down in Alderley Road.

But while she welcomes that work is being done to consider the parking problems in town, Cllr Toni Fox, Residents of Wilmslow member for Dean Row, is concerned that not enough work has taken place yet for CEC to fully understand the issues that residents and businesses face with parking.

“I just hope that they have got enough evidence to support the proposals they are putting forward,” she said.

“I don’t think you can make those sort of decisions until you have spoken to more people about it.

“To my knowledge they have not spoken to the neighbourhood plan team or to businessowners who have got some quite useful ideas to put forward and suggestions on how parking could be improved in Wilmslow.

“How successful the survey is will depend on how much residents, businessowners and commuters engage with the process.”

A consultation event will be held at Wilmslow Parish Hall, in Cliff Road, from 7pm to 9pm on Wednesday, January 30, where members of the public can discuss the issue with CEC officers.

The council has been approached for comment.