12:10pm Thursday 9th September 2010
By Vicki Stockman
COUNCIL staff are taking over a shoppers car park and paying a fraction of the daily cost to park there.
Independent shop owners in the town centre are outraged that New Town House staff are taking over the first two floors of Warrington Market’s multi-storey car park on Academy Way and paying only 60p a day instead of the usual £5.70 for anyone using the car park for more than four hours.
Traders say shoppers have been turned away from the cara park in the last week because it is full.
Michael Hancock, from Hancock and Wood, in Bridge Street, said: “It’s a shoppers car park not a local government workers’ car park. We are not looking after customers – we need to be pulling people into the town.
“With a shoppers’ car park, the shopper should come first and staff should have to manage.
“In business we do not say the staff come first before customers.”
Mr Hancock said he had asked council bosses who the essential users were but had yet to receive an answer.
He added: “I do not accept that they are essential users. The first two levels are full at 8.30am and for most of the day.
“The staff already have a perfectly good car park beside the Town Hall.”
Traders say the the first two levels are favoured by visitors and Mr Hancock added: “Customers are gobsmacked about this. The car park is supposed to be a short-stay car park.”
Warrington Borough Council says it undertook a study of the car park in July and there were an average of 150 empty spaces left in the car park.
David Boyer, the assistant director of transport and engineering, said staff using the car park were essential car-users who used their vehicles regularly throughout the day.
He said : “Staff parking is currently under review, so the number parking at the market is likely to change soon, as is the price they pay.”
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