In my role at the Council in charge of Transportation policy, I’m proposing a number of changes to parking which will have an effect on Cheadle.

Cutting the cost of short-term parking

Right across Stockport, we are proposing moving car parking to an hourly rate. In the centre of Stockport the rate will be 80p an hour. In Cheadle and the other district centres it will move to 20p an hour, so 1 hour parking 20p, 2 hours 40p up to a maximum fee of £2 for the day. That’s a 50% cut in the cost of popping into Cheadle for an hour.

Parking permit costs to be slashed in Cheadle

That will mean a big drop in parking permit charges in Cheadle (as they are based on a percentage of the full day fee). The Mon-Fri three month permit is currently £138.46 and was due to go up to £167.31 in April. I’ve stopped that increase and, if my proposals go ahead, the cost of the three month Mon-Fri permit will drop to £90.

I am proposing that people who benefit from residents’ parking schemes should cover the cost of their scheme (around £40 a year, up from £21 now) as I don’t think it’s fair to ask council taxpayers to continue to subsidise residents parking. There are a small number of residents parking schemes in Cheadle (though none in Gatley).

Residents parking schemes asked to cover their costs

Under this proposal, residents in every existing scheme will be asked whether they want to keep the scheme and pay more to cover the cost, or lose the scheme (this will take about a year to work through). Where schemes are currently free, the same will apply – residents will have the choice of moving to a scheme that covers its costs or ending it.

Where schemes are in local centres, we want every scheme to include free one-hour limited parking for anyone during the daytime, unless there’s a very good reason not to. In Cheadle that would include Chapel Street, for example. That means residents have the parking to themselves overnight, when everyone’s back from work, but in the daytime when the bays are often largely unused, shoppers and visitors could make use of them. It’s about using the parking we have as effectively as possible and getting the balance right between residents and others.

 More parking enforcement

In response to residents’ requests, we have also boosted the number of traffic wardens in Cheadle and Gatley (and other parts of Stockport) over the last year. Ashfield Road in Cheadle is now in the top-five roads in Stockport for parking tickets!

These proposals apply equally everywhere, but because Gatley currently has no paid parking and no residents parking, Gatley residents won’t see any changes.

Cashless parking

Remember that you can also pay for your car parking by internet, phone, text or smartphone app in every Council car park across Stockport. It just takes a minute or two to register at https://www.myringgo.co.uk/. I’ve found the easiest way is to download the free Ringgo smartphone app (for iPhone or Android) – I can park the car, walk to the shops and I’ve paid by the time I leave the car park.