THIS was Lymm’s Pepper Street car park mid-morning on what is generally accepted as the busiest shopping day of the year – the last Saturday before Christmas.
Normally at this time, shoppers struggle to find a space – on any Saturday.
The situation was the same on the other side of the car park – and also on the Davies Way car park on the other side of the village…both pictured below.
It was a misty morning but the weather was not enough to keep shoppers away.
The cause, according to a number of Lymm shopkeepers, was the new £1 charge for parking on any of the village car parks for longer than 15 minutes.
Footfall had fallen drastically from the day the charge was introduced.
Lymm parish councillor Anna Fradgley was out and about, even if the shoppers were not. She was carrying out a survey of people’s opinions.
She said: “The most overwhelming outcome, which is of no surprise, is that people want their one hour free parking back. But what did come as a surprise to me is that many people actually don’t mind paying for parking, if they need to stay in the village for a longer period.. It’s just that they felt that the £1 entry point was too steep for 15 minutes.
“Some traders were already finding it tough, but the reduced footfall is making it worse. One retailer said that they thought Warrington Council was more like ‘Scrooge’ than Santa this Christmas.”
Warrington Borough Council has said they will review the situation after seeing how the new charges effect the village.
3 Comments
Cllr Fradgley is quite right. The flip side of this impact is that the residential roads neighbouring the village, already suffering from overspill parking, have had more cars than ever, often causing difficulties for vehicles trying to get down the roads.
Lymm was promised a full and comprehensive Parking Review, which we haven’t had. All that appears to have been done are local consultations where additional restrictions were being considered.
Either intentionally or unintentionally the ,Council appears to be treating the south of the Borough with disdain. The Labour administration has no interest in the south except as a source of Council cash while officers, already hard pressed, often seem unfamiliar with the issues here. It is not surprising that residents are cross.
Bob
Cllr Bob Barr
Lymm North and Thelwall
Stockton Heath car parks full, footfall up !!! Arrive at 12 oclock pay a pound shop all day because its free after 3 anyway, simples.
Danebank Road is one of the new car parks. It is now a single file road which on a steep hill is adding an additional safety hazard. Well done WBC!