PARKING problems look set to continue in Helsby after a parish council request to implement an enforceable short stay was turned down.
Helsby parish council contacted Cheshire West and Chester council in a bid to end commuter’s cars blocking Station Avenue and spilling over on to Chester Road, causing problems for residents, shop owners and through traffic, but were told the council’s civil enforcement officers were ‘unable to provide any enforcement’ in Helsby, rendering any new order unenforceable.
Helsby parish Cllr Terry O’Neill said: “Parking isn’t just a problem in cities, it affects rural areas as well.
“We wanted limited parking because a number of people use the station car park all day, we’re a victim of our own success.
“You could argue the car park at the top of the Station Avenue is a standard car park but it’s made for the shoppers not for the railway travel.
“We’re stymied.”
Because the now defunct Cheshire County Council failed to request civil enforcement powers for the formal Vale Royal Borough Council area, Cheshire Police are responsible for enforcing parking in the area.
But following a Chronicle investigation we found just 482 fixed penalty notices were handed out by police in the whole of Vale Royal last year, compared to 11,545 by traffic wardens in Chester.
A Cheshire West and Chester spokesman said:
“Cheshire West and Chester Council has not yet made a decision as to whether civil parking enforcement should apply to Vale Royal.”
Inspector Phil Hodgson of the Western Rural Neighbourhood Policing Team added: “Cheshire Police still has the power to enforce parking restrictions such as parking on double yellow lines or dangerous parking in the former Vale Royal area.”
