NORTHWICH residents are being urged to give their views as the council has announced it is considering imposing parking charges in the town.

Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC) is developing a parking strategy for the borough and is launching a public consultation on the initial recommendations made by independent consultants.

The strategy is looking at creating a ‘fair and consistent’ parking service across the borough with the council highlighting that some areas have parking charges and others, like Northwich, do not.

Cllr Karen Shore, cabinet member for environment, said: “There is an imbalance at the moment, as residents and businesses in some areas are paying for parking and others are not.

“It is important to stress that at this stage we are only consulting on the proposals made by the independent consultants and no decisions have been made.

“They include some better alternatives to current parking concessions that will appeal to a wider range of motorists and help to cut congestion, while continuing to support businesses.

“We are seeking the views of all interested parties and we will be having conversations with groups representing the disabled to obtain their views on proposals to charge Blue Badge holders for parking which has been introduced in other areas across the country.

“I hope as many people as possible get involved in this consultation and share their views and ideas.”

The public consultation started on Friday, November 25 and will take place over 12 weeks.

A drop-in session for Northwich residents to give their views will be held today, Wednesday, November 30, from 3pm to 7pm at Memorial Court in Chester Way.

Northwich councillor, Sam Naylor, has urged residents to go and have their say and told them to blame the Government if parking charges are introduced.

Cllr Sam Naylor said: “It’s a really explosive issue in Northwich because we have all this new development and we don’t want to put people off coming to the town. But when you’re faced with £50 million cuts, where do you start finding the money from?

“It’s a passionate issue and there’ll be strong views. I have always been against it but the situation we are in means the council has got to make some really difficult decisions to balance the books.

“If I had to look at cutting funding to look after children and elderly residents, I’d say I’d have to go for the parking charges instead. Don’t blame us, blame the Government. Local council funding has been cut to the bone.”

The drop-in sessions will be led by independent consultants, and residents or workers in the town can jsut turn up without any need to register.