Trade hitting the buffers as train passengers take parking
TRADERS in Edgeley are calling for action to stop commuters using car parks all day - at the expense of shoppers.
Car parks off Castle Street are also near to Stockport train station and a cheap location to leave vehicles during working hours.
But this means potential customers are losing out on spaces, and therefore shops in the area are losing out on trade.
Glynis Bakewell, owner of CJ Card Crafts for more than a decade, wants the pricing structure of parking changed to deter those who catch the train to work.
She said: “It is the little shops that are losing out and we need all the help we can get.
“On weekday mornings you see loads of people driving round looking for a parking space.
“Then there’s none left for shoppers who go somewhere else.
“There’s one BMW that is in the same spot early every morning and doesn’t go until after closing.
“It is having a big effect on trade and we need the council to increase the parking charges after two hours to an amount that will stop people using the car parks all day.”
The car parks in question are at James Street and York Street.
A similar problem was fixed in Cheadle with the introduction of more expensive long stay parking.
Shop owners have started a petition to hand into Stockport Council, which so far has attracted around 300 signatures.
Councillor Philip Harding, from the Edgeley and Cheadle Heath ward, is speaking to the council on behalf of traders.
He said: “All ward councillors support this suggestion and I have asked the council to look at staggered parking charges, where up to two hours is cheap and then it goes up considerably.
“We hope the council will support this. At the moment you can park all day for virtually nothing so the car parks around Castle Street fill up quite early.”
Coun Harding added he is waiting for the council to return to him with a proposed price structure, which would then be put out to consultation.
There is a new multi-storey car park near to Stockport train station as part of the Stockport Exchange redevelopment.
But the cost of parking there is substantially higher than in the car parks around Castle Street.