Chorley town centre car parking: all you need to know about the changes that are on the way next year

The 50 pence fee for parking for up to an hour on the Flat Iron car park, outside the Market Walk Shopping Centre, will be scrapped and motorists will have to pay £1 no matter how long they park up the maximum two-hour limit. Currently, the £1 charge is levied only on those staying for more than 60 minutes.

Charging will also apply on the site seven days a week between 8am and 5pm - whereas, at the moment, drivers do not have to pay from 1pm on Saturdays or at any time on Sundays. Blue badge holders will still be able to park for free in any bay for two hours.

The changes are amongst a range of tweaks to the parking arrangements at local authority-run car parks in and around Chorley town centre which will come into force early in the new year after being agreed by Chorley Council's cabinet. The authority says that the overhaul is designed to ensure there is sufficient capacity to meet the strong demand for spaces - and also to better reflect the different reasons that people now visit the town since the opening of new leisure destinations in recent years.

To accommodate people taking a trip to venues like the cinema, bowling alley and restaurants in the Market Walk extension, the Portland Street car park - next to McDonald's, on the A6 - will be designated for leisure use, with a maximum four-hour stay introduced for the current £1 rate for that timeframe. At present, the site also offers all-day parking for £3.50, but will no longer do so - meaning many town centre workers will have to use other sites.

Elsewhere, the three hours of free parking on long-stay car parks - like Friday Street and Queen’s Road - will be reduced to an hour, bringing them in line with all short-stay facilities except the Flat Iron. Free parking on Saturdays after 1pm and all day Sundays will continue to be offered at all car parks - again, with the exception of the Flat Iron.

Parking fee refunds provided by Booths supermarket to its customers using the Flat Iron - for those who spend at least £10 in the store - will not be affected by the council’s plans, as they are offered at the retailer's own discretion.

Deputy council leader Peter Wilson told the cabinet meeting where the new charging structure was agreed that one of the main aims was to maintain the “churn” of vehicles able to park on the Flat Iron - while keeping parking costs across the town centre “very affordable”.

“We want…people to spend time in Chorley. But the Flat Iron is an extremely busy car park ..and since the cinema has opened, we see it being very busy at different times of the day.

“You can go at 4.00 on a Saturday afternoon and it's as busy as it is at 10.00 in the morning. So the nature of the town is changing [and] the nature of the way people use the car park is changing - and obviously [it] can get blocked up very quickly,” said Cllr Wilson.

However, Conservative opposition group leader Alan Cullens said that the move to introduce charges on the Flat Iron on a Sunday flew in the face of what the council was hoping to achieve by broadening the town centre’s appeal.

“I think by charging for the [full] seven days, we’re penalising families that might come in to use the leisure facilities that we’re trying to promote,” Cllr Cullens warned.

His Tory colleague Sam Chapman suggested that it was a “very bad time to make these sort of changes - and takes risks with the town centre’s economy”. He called for the decision to be deferred until the views of businesses and residents had been sought - and said that the increase in charges for the Flat Iron was at odds with a previous pledge to provide free parking for electric vehicles.

Cllr Wilson said that he felt the £1 charge on the Flat Iron was a “fair deal” - and told the meeting that the real incentive for electric car owners was the fact that they would still be able to charge their vehicles for free in the car park, even if they had to pay slightly more for the space they occupy.

Papers presented to the cabinet meeting reveal that the package of tariff changes is expected to generate an extra £175,000 in revenue for the council, which, back in February, was forecasting a £1.1m funding gap by 2024/25.

However, parking income for the borough authority is still down by about £100,000 on pre-Covid levels, meaning the fee increases will raise a net £75,000 for the council’s coffers compared to the funds previously expected. Parking revenues had already fallen by £162,000 in the year to 2017/18 after the introduction of free parking periods in an effort to prevent the Market Walk redevelopment work happening at the time from deterring visitors.

‘PARKING CHARGES ARE FAIR ENOUGH’, RETAIL REPRESENTATIVE SAYS

Malcolm Allen, chair of Chorley Traders’ Alliance, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that even after the parking fee increases come into force next Spring, Chorley will remain an appealing destination for shoppers and visitors travelling by car.

“Car parking charges haven’t been reviewed for five years and I think [what has been agreed] is quite reasonable. However, some people don't like using the Portland Street car park [soon to become a leisure-stay car park], because you have to cross over the A6.

“But the car parks help fund the town centre entertainment - especially at Christmas - which attracts people and helps keep the residents happy. So as long as the town remains busy - and you can't predict the days that it’s going to be since Covid - then I’ve got no problem with any of it,” Malcolm added.

WHAT WILL YOU PAY WHERE?

The new parking tariffs are expected to come into force at the start of the next financial year in April 2023. Blue badge holders will continue to be able to park for free in any bay on the Flat Iron for two hours and for up to four hours at all other council-run town centre parking facilities.

Charges will apply between 8am and 5pm Monday to Friday and 8am and 1pm on Saturdays at all locations except the Flat Iron, where they be in operation from 8am to 5pm seven days a week.

Flat Iron, Union Street

Up to two hours - £1

Maximum two-hour stay.

All other short-stay car parks (Cleveland Street and its extension, Fleet Street short-stay, Hollinshead Street, St. Mary’s and West Street)

Up to one hour - free

Up to three hours - £1

Maximum three-hour stay.

All long-stay car parks (Back Mount, Farrington Street, Fleet Street long-stay, Friday Street, George Street, Queen’s Road, Water Street)

Up to one hour - free

Up to four hours - £1

Up to all day - up to £3.50 (incremental charge depending on the time of day the ticket is purchased)

Portland Street (leisure stay)

Up to one hour - free

Up to four hours - £1

Maximum four-hour stay.

Source: Chorley Council