A Local reporter has identified that Cheshire East Council’s new £11m multi-storey car park in Crewe, is closed on Sundays, because the cash-strapped council can’t afford to pay the operating costs seven days a week.
The 390-space town centre car park officially opened on 31st July, six months later than planned, after being plagued with problems during construction.
Now it appears the council can't afford to open it seven days a week.
Cllr Mark Goldsmith (Ind), chair of Cheshire East Council's highways and transport committee, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS):
"There is no plan in the short-term future to open the Crewe multi-storey car park on a Sunday, as there is car parking available elsewhere in Crewe's town centre.
"Unlike our surface level car parks, the multi-storey in Crewe requires staffing and, given the financial position the council is in at the moment, it would not be sensible to be adding further cost to the operation of one of our car parks."
The car park was planned as part of a regeneration scheme which was to have seen Crewe town centre transformed.
Originally there were plans for a new eight-screen cinema, gym, restaurants, shops as well as the new bus station.
The final result was the demolition of many of the existing shops and business premises on Victoria Street and Queensway – but nothing has yet replaced them.
The only schemes which did go ahead were the bus station and the car park.
Conservative group leader Janet Clowes told the LDRS,
“…while costs must be minimised for the council at the current time, 'I think, like most people, we had thought that once the multi-storey car park was open it would be open seven days a week'.
She added: "I'm unaware that these opening hours were arranged or organised through any highways and transport committee meeting."
She later said, “It is clear that when the car park was officially opened at the end of July, an event that I attended, there were virtually no cars using the facility and that does not seem to have changed. Visitors to town still use the surface car parks because they are cheaper and easier to access”.
“It is understood that the nearest surface car parks will, eventually, be released for development but until that time comes, this would seem to be a situation where lowering (not raising) parking fees in the multi-storey car park might attract greater use. To do this prior to Christmas might be a trigger for increasing footfall to those retail outlets that are still operating in the Town Centre.”
Ref: Belinda Ryan - LDR https://crewe.nub.news/news/local-news/crewes-new-ps11m-multi-storey-car-is-closed-on-sundays-due-to-cash-strapped-cheshire-east-council-242015
Photos: J C Clowes (31.07.2024)
