RESIDENTS have been urged to press for changes to parking charges in council-owned car parks in Crewe which are the highest in Cheshire East.

Cheshire East Council has launched public consultations on parking plans as well as transport issues across the borough and council chiefs have hinted there might be "scope for harmonisation" of the current raft of charges, which vary from one town to another.

Labour and Independent councillors in Crewe and Nantwich are calling for a fairer strategy, in particular where they say motorists are penalised compared to those in "free parking" towns like Sandbach and Alsager.

In Crewe charges start at 80 pence for the first hour of parking and in Nantwich 70 pence, but motorists in affluent Alderley Edge only pay 50 pence for their first hour.

Crewe East councillor Suzanne Brookfield said: "The Conservatives hiked up the charges for car parks in our town after a consultation period where Labour councillors and local party members campaigned for more parity.

"We delivered a petition to then Cheshire East Council leader Rachel Bailey, but it fell on deaf ears. Now, with the joint Labour and Independent administration, we can change things for the better. We need residents to get involved with the consultation at every stage and make their voices heard."

Cheshire East says its car parking consultation will not only look at the level of parking charges in the borough, but the role of parking in accessing town centres as well as on-street parking restrictions.

The consultations began this week and run until January 31 next year and the results will also be used to help shape improvements in transport, walking and cycling.

Cheshire East Council reintroduced parking charges in June after they were suspended for three months during the first lockdown to support key workers.

Crewe Central councillor Anthony Critchley said: "We are always asked by residents about why people in the towns of Crewe, Nantwich and Macclesfield subsidise other areas when it comes to car parking.

"Some of lowest paid workers in our town are out of pocket for just going to work every day.

"The average household income in Alderley Edge is £52,300. In my ward it is £20,500. Yet you will pay 80p to park in Crewe for the first hour, 50p for the same period in Alderley Edge."

Cllr Arthur Moran, who represents Nantwich North said: "Crewe and Nantwich have the highest car parking charges in the whole of Cheshire East and some areas do not have any charges at all."

The local transport plan consultation also seeks views on how to manage traffic to support town centres and the visitor economy, improving amenities where people live and improving connectivity between work, education and essential services, such as hospitals.

Cllr Craig Browne, deputy leader of Cheshire East Council, said: "This consultation is an opportunity for us to work together and get the right blend of local transport provision in the right places.

"We must also consider the potential longer-term impacts of Covid-19. This may include using our spaces differently to enable social distancing, more reliance on active travel and public transport, as well as increased home working."

Cllr Laura Crane, Cheshire East Council Cabinet members for highways and waste, said: "The local transport plan sets out a need for greater harmonisation of parking arrangements across Cheshire East during the period up to 2025.

The council's survey can be found on online here.

If you want to submit your response in a different way call 0300 123 55 00 or email [email protected].