Agenda item

To consider responses to the further consultation.

1.    That, having considered the responses to the further consultation exercise, the consolidated Off Street parking order attached at Appendix A to the report be made subject to an agreed amendment to Clause 26.1; and

2.    That the Cabinet Member delegate any further changes to the order except in relation to fees and charges to the Head of Communities in consultation with the Portfolio Holder. 

The decision requested was to formalise the making of an Off Street Parking Order for Cheshire East, to bring together all the different orders for Cheshire East into one consolidated order.

In September 2014 the Council gave notice of its intention to do this and the order now proposed is largely the same as that which was proposed then except that it retains the current position on car parks in terms of pricing, apart from the long stay car park in Crewe. Other proposals include the removal of car parks no longer in Council ownership or control and adding in a section to enable electric vehicle charging points.

In February 2015 the Portfolio Holder agreed to make some changes to the proposed order.  Where the Council decides to modify a proposed order it must consult those likely to be affected by the modifications; giving them an opportunity to make representations; and ensuring those representations are considered by the authority.  The proposed modifications were advertised in the affected areas on the 4th September 2015 and as these modified proposals largely reflect the current situation the deadline for consultation responses was relatively short. Responses had to be received by 21st September 2015 and they were considered by the Portfolio Holder as part of this decision-making process about the final form of the order.

The reasons for making the order are to enable a consolidated car parking order to be established for Cheshire East which takes into account any objections, comments or representations received as a result of the consultation exercises undertaken; and to delegate decision making to the Head of Communities to enable her to make any future changes subject to the necessary consultation with statutory consultees, residents, businesses and the portfolio holder.

The other options considered were not to make the order as drafted or to change it in some way.  The advice of the Monitoring Officer and Chief Finance Officer on the legal and financial implications of the proposed order were set out in the report.

In response to the particular issues raised by the Local Ward Member for Alderley Edge concerning parking in the town centre it was reported that it would be necessary to re-consult on such an amendment and the best way to proceed was, therefore, to make the consolidated order as now set out and to then move immediately to advertise and consult on the proposals for the specific location. 

It was also noted that in February 2015 it had been intended to review the operation of the proposed order once it had been in place for 12 months. This work is now likely to be subsumed into the development of a parking strategy.

RESOLVED

1.    That, having considered the responses to the further consultation exercise, the Consolidated Off Street Parking Order, as set out in Appendix A of the report be made subject to an agreed amendment to clause 26.1; and

2.    That any further changes to the Order except in relation to fees and charges, be delegated to the Head of Communities in consultation with the Portfolio Holder.