1,720 drivers booked
for parking each month
by David Skentelbery
AN average of 1,720 motorists a month are being booked by Warrington’s parking wardens according to the latest figures available.
But it is too soon to establish whether the number of people parking illegally is falling.
While the highest number of bookings was in the first full month of the scheme – 1,984 in March – and the number fell to 1,599 the following month, it has fluctuated since.
It rose to 1,820 in May, fell slightly to 1,738 in June and dropped to 1,554 in July.
A total of 10,317 parking tickets were issued in the first six months since the borough council took over parking enforcement from the police.
Phil Johnson, the council’s head of transport, said: “The numbers rise and fall on a monthly basis. At present we are unable to predict a trend due to a lack of sufficient data.”
The council never set any targets for its parking enforcement scheme. The aim was for it to be “cost neutral” – although it was expected there would be a deficit in the first year. If a surplus should be achieved the money would be re-invested to improve the town’s transport infrastructure.
Council chiefs hope that motorists are getting the message that anyone who parks irresponsibly will receive a parking ticket. But they point out that the scheme was deliberately introduced in a low-key way with a two week warning notice period before penalty charge notices were issued.
Is the scheme proving a success?
Mr Johnson said: “The main reason behind the council taking over these powers from the police was to allow them to concentrate on more serious crimes, to improve road safety for drivers and pedestrians alike and to make Warrington a better place to live, work and visit.
“If parking enforcement – allied to other council schemes and initiatives – can assist in delivering these goals then this would be judged a success in the council’s view.”
Figures provided by the council’s parking enforcement contractor, APCOA Parking (UK) Ltd, show that some London boroughs are making a surplus of between ?1 million and ?8 million a year on parking schemes – despite contractor’s charges of up to ?5.6 million.
But it is believed these figures include revenues from residents’ parking permits, car park and on-street pay and display parking charges as well as from parking tickets.
Provincial authorities, more comparable with Warrington, either claim a “cost neutral” return or, in one case, a surplus of ?32,000.
Mr Johnson said it was difficult to make comparisons between Warrington and other authorities because of the broad nature of the figures supplied.
Warrington expected to make a small operating loss of ?30,000-?40,000 in its first full year due to set up costs. This was in line with consultants’ guidance and also with other schemes throughout the country.
But the council had always envisaged the scheme being “non-profit making”.
Council launches
blitz on graffiti
by Lesley Wilkinson
A BLITZ on graffiti throughout Warrington is being launched as a clean-up team hits the streets.
Local people are being urged to contact the borough council to report graffiti hot spots.
The new graffiti removal service is being run by the council until November 2009, and will run between March and November each year.
It follows the success of last summer’s graffiti blitz, when 137 instances of removal were carried out over a three-month period.
The team will clear graffiti from council maintained land/buildings. The public, parish councils, residents groups and community groups are being asked to report areas where removal is needed, and if accessible the graffiti blight will be added to the programme.
Coun Brian Axcell, the council?s executive member for environment services, said: “Although graffiti may not appear to be a widespread issue within Warrington, the rapid removal will address what is currently an eyesore and hopefully deter individuals from carrying out this sort of environmental crime in the future.
“The initiative will not only improve the cleanliness of residential areas, but strengthen our resident’s perception of their environment and enhance community pride”.
People can contact the council’s environment services customer information line on 01925 443000 to report instances of graffiti.
Council’s new contact
centre ready to open
by Lesley Wilkinson
A NEW one-stop shop for Warrington Borough Council is to open in Horsemarket Street on Monday (August 13).
Contact Warrington should make life easier for local people who want to contact the authority and will provide a single point of contact for residents and visitors who need information and advice from the council.
All access to council services, whether by personal contact, email, letter, telephone or Internet service, will be organised in the one venue.
The One Stop Shop, for face-to-face contact, is based on the ground floor where customers can speak to council staff who can offer help and advice. It is open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 1pm on Saturday.
On the first floor there is a call centre, where all telephone enquiries will be handled. Calls will be logged and the aim is for 80 per cent of enquiries to be dealt with by the operator who answers the call.
The call centre, for telephone, email and written contact will be open from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 1pm on a Saturday. An official opening is planned next month.
The council’s new website at www.warrington.gov.uk has been revamped to ensure that people can access the information they want more easily and provides improved self service, such as making payments online.
Coun David Earl, (pictured)the council?s executive member for innovation and change, said: “This really is a big step for the council is terms of its customer relations and services. This project is all part of our customer contact strategy where we are working hard to improve resident’s access to services and information.
“Some of those frustrations about contacting the council will now disappear and we are sure that this new centre will greatly improve people’s experience of dealing with the council in order for them to access the services they need and to also promote our services in general.”
Councillors on the
look-out for potholes
by John Hendon
A REVIEW of the state of the roads in Great Sankey, Warrington, is being carried out by local councillors.
They are looking at safety hazards, such as potholes, and also the general state of repair.
The councillors, from Great Sankey South, are focusing on particular areas where problems seem to be worse.
They are asking residents for their views on the road conditions and will then be campaigning for repairs to be carried out.
Coun Jim Regan said: “After doing a residents survey in the Hawthorne Ave area and the Marina. Ave area residents indicated that one of their main concerns was the state of the paths and the potholes in the roads.”
He said residents were concerned about tripping on uneven surfaces, potential damage to cars when driving over potholes and poor drainage of the roads.
He said the ward councillors: “will keep on campaigning to get these repaired.”
Day nursery to be
converted to offices
by David Skentelbery
PLANNING chiefs at Warrington have refused permission for a children?s day nursery to be converted into a house ? even though it was formerly a pair of houses.
But they have agreed to allow it to be converted to offices.
The property is in Delenty Drive, Risley and is currently operating as a nursery for up to 32 children with 10 staff.
A decision on an appeal against the refusal of permission to increase the number of children to 39 is currently pending.
Officers say the proposal to use the property as a dwelling would be contrary to council policy designed to cope with the current oversupply of housing in the borough.
They admit the nursery has been a source of complaints from nearby residents but say the need to prevent any addition to the housing surplus is an overriding factor.
Nearby residents were worried about parking and traffic problems should the property become offices ? and Birchwood Town Council had similar concerns. Some residents said the nursery should never have been allowed ? but were opposed to the offices as well.
Planning officers said a small, low key office development would be acceptable despite the predominantly residential nature of the area.
Ironically, another application to increase the size of another nursery in Delenty Drive – Heathfield House ? was approved. The number of children can be increased from 20 to 32.
Neighbours and the Town Council again objected, but councillors agreed with officers that the impact of the increased number of children would be minimal.
Helen is new
unit manager
by Lesley Wilkinson
A FIELD marketing and telemarketing company has appointed Helen Sloan, of Lymm, as new business unit manager for its Warrington-based contact centre business.
CPM UK made the appointment for its 430-seat capacity centre.
Helen has worked at senior management level in the telephony, telemarketing and contact centre industries. She started her career as a graduate working in newspaper advertising and has since worked for a variety of companies working on behalf of clients such as Mirror Group Newspapers, ITV and Procter and Gamble.
At CPM, Helen will be responsible for a client service team while overseeing the Warrington contact centre for both inbound and outbound operations on behalf of a range of clients.
She said: “I am delighted to be one of two business unit heads at the Warrington operation which services work on behalf of several of CPM’s key clients.
“CPM has both an established field marketing capability and growing contact centre business and I am fortunate to have the opportunity to be part of such a progressive company.”
