CONSERVATIVE councillors called for the Cheshire West’s active travel schemes to be scrapped at this month’s cabinet meeting.

They also proposed a plan to ‘support’ businesses through Christmas by providing free parking and free park and ride at certain times of the week.

While discussing a report from CWAC’s high street, town, and city centre commission, a number of Conservative group members used the visiting speaker section of the meeting to call on the Labour cabinet to suspend the schemes.

Conservative group leader Cllr Margaret Parker laid down the challenge: “Our high streets are facing many challenges.

“Active travel lanes are not working. This will, in the run up to Christmas, [create] queuing traffic and damage the economy.

“The first tranche needs to cease now."

The county has seen ‘experimental’ measures come into force, which restrict cars' movement in a variety of locations.

The subsequent congestion and delays has caused CWAC to launch a taskforce examining the plans., and a Facebook group called ‘People against travel lanes Chester’ now boasts more than 3,000 members.

Cllr Parker’s comments were echoed by Cllr Stuart Parker, Cllr Fifield, Cllr Eardley, Cllr Houlbrook, Cllr Daniels, Cllr Gibbon, and Cllr Neil Sullivan.

And Cllr Sullivan then used a later item — discussing the council’s financial position in light of Covid-19 — to ask the council cabinet to implement a swathe of measures to keep businesses ‘viable whatever it takes’.

Cllr Sullivan, who is the shadow portfolio holder for legal and finance, suggested: “Can we provide park and ride free after 10am on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays? Can we make all CWAC car parks free on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays? Can we [make] CWAC car parks free to stay after 3pm from Monday to Thursday?”

The Handbridge Park ward representative said he had calculated the costs of such measures at £600,000 to the council from the end of lockdown until the new financial year in April.

He claimed this money could be taken from a projected £1.6 million underspend in ‘business as usual budgets’, and was supported by Conservative colleagues.

In response, Cllr Karen Shore, Labour’s deputy CWAC leader, said: “I am perplexed Cllr Sullivan is asking for free park and ride after arguing for it to be abolished over the years.”

Cllr Carol Gahan, cabinet member for legal and finance, added: “It is clear that what he is suggesting is on the basis of CWAC having spare money.

“Our position appears to be balanced but that is because we have estimated income from central government. We have not received it yet.

“We are 6.5 per cent down on collection rates for business rates — you need to read behind [the report’s] headlines.”

Cllr Gahan suggested that underspend would be used as a contingency fund over the coming months for any other costs incurred from the pandemic.