Wirral Council has announced proposals that could see motorists having to pay for parking on North Parade, Hoylake (pictured above).
The proposal was suggested at a Wirral Council cabinet meeting on Monday and I’ll publish links to the relevant documentation when it becomes available. The council has listed these coastal locations as potential sites for parking meters:
- North Parade, between Hoylake and Meols
- South Parade, West Kirby
- Derby Pool, Wallasey
- Kings Parade, Wallasey
- Gunsite, Wallasey
- Leasowe Lighthouse
How much of North Parade and Meols Parade might be included isn’t clear (it’s nearly 2 miles from King’s Gap to Meols slipway). I understand the charges could be £1/hr, £2/day or £20 overnight. The locations at Hoylake and West Kirby are of course used for residential parking, so perhaps a residents parking permit scheme will be introduced?
North Parade and Meols Parade attract a lower volume of parking motorists than South Parade at West Kirby. But the promenade is used for parking for various activities. Meols Parade is used for parking by parents as a park-and-walk location for pupils of Meols Primary School.
Hoylake Sailing Club, Hoylake RNLI and Hoylake Parade community centre do attract visitors at various times throughout the week. There is some free parking available at Hoylake Parade. A new cafe is set to open next year at the old lifeboat station and that doesn’t have it’s own car park.
Additionally, a charge of about 30p to use public toilets is being considered. There are two blocks of public toilets on Hoylake prom, one in the Parade Gardens and the other at the end of Meols Parade.
What do you think?
- Are parking charges a fair way of raising income for your local council?
- Do you think these proposals will be cost effective?
- Do you live by the prom and park on it – how would parking charges affect you?
- Do you think parking problems in side roads could become an issue?
Please have your say in the comments.
My initial reaction to this is ‘’No!’’ While sympathetic to all cash-starved Councils my – possibly selfish – concern being for residents and their visitors as I regularly visit family on Meols Parade and have no option but to park on the Prom as there’s no-where else available. Not even a ‘handy’ side road!
Well the answer is NO!!!first it was the parks such as Royden now the promenade…We need people to able to use the beach and enjoy the foreshore without paying all the time! What we need now is to remember all this when we come to vote at the council elections. The labour run council made a terrible mess of the Wirral once before wanting to shut down libraries ,swimming pools etc …people have short memories.
I would say a big resounding NO.
Our council need to look to other areas to save money. Axe the paper that noone reads. Stop paying exhorbitant fees to consultants and make decisions on their own! On the one hand they say golf is declining and then on the other hand they want to loan millions of pounds to help developers. I wonder where this cash is coming from? Ah yes taxing the air we breathe!
No No No No No this is a disgrace im sure they can raise money or save money another way. Shocking idea
If a charge is levied on the prom this will just add pressure on the roads leading down to the prom for example Alderley. Some of these streets already have considerable parking pressure at the Market St end already causing residents issues with parking.
Surely by now the council,has learned the lesson that by charging for parking it will be a tiny return in cash when considering the set up,collection and administration and a massive fall in visitor numbers and people using and enjoying the beaches and countryside around us …. it’s a pathetic poorly thought out money grab .
What a stupid idea
It just will kill what is left of Hoylake
No public toilets. Now charging people to walk there dogs. On the beach. Well done council. Killed what was. Thriving little village. What next. Making people pay to take there kids in the park a use ethe swings
Or better still why not just sell the park an build houses on it !!!!
Ridiculous. Council should encourage public to get out and parking charges will put people off. People will just park in the side streets and create congestion outside people’s homes instead.
Just streamline the council management. Director for health and care and a Director for Health and Wellbeing. Bit of overkill. Perhaps one gets the tea in for the other.
As Chairman of the Parade, Hoylake Community Centre based on the promenade I have to say this would have a considerable impact. Our parking on site frequently overflows onto the promenade as the number of users continues to grow. If these are forced onto adjacent streets it is likely to cause inconvenience to local residents and congestion. The general effect on the leisure and tourism of the village of this will be considerable too. As ever it does not appear to have been thought through and the income is likely to be negligible compared to the loss of revenue to the village from visitors.
This is just a disgrace. The very fact they are charging people for parking to go to nice places for fresh air and to spend time with their family is just wrong. Charging people to go and get fresh air? Shocking!!!
This will have an impact on people’s well-being if they stop coming to places like this. Not everyone is lucky enough to live by them to walk there so have to drive. This is just a total disgrace!
A lot of pensioners enjoy a couple of hours out of their houses and would stop their bit of pleasure. It is a popular place for families for a day near the sea too. Why do we have to charge for such small pleasures,and it does bring visitors to our area,who may not come otherwise. So definitely NO.
The Council yet again proposes raising money by penalising local people. There is usually no shortage of parking spaces on Meols Parade and given visitors to the Lifeboat etc., there is a real risk of deterring rather than encouraging visitors.
WBC must be one of the most inefficient in the country. Perhaps if they focussed on doing what they should do to raise revenue they would not need to introduce such measures.
What a stupid idea. Nobody will go to the Prom, which is sad. As for paying to use public toilets rather than pay, some people, [ if there are any ] will just be going anywhere rather than pay. Not a very bright future !!
The people living at Market Street end of Alderley Road will have to park on the promenade when the 18 flats are built, with no parking provision, on the site of the Presbyterian Church.( This council passed the plans for this to go ahead). I feel it would be adding insult to injury for local residents to be charged to park in their local community when they are unable to park outside their own home.
Oh dear, here we go again…Stuart Whittingham & crew don’t have a clue about what they can and cannot use TRO’s for. They really need to read up on the RTRA 1984 and I’ll be challenging this TRO when/if it comes to publication. I only wish I had the cash to fund a judicial review in the High Court!
I live near the promenade and think that this is a disgraceful idea. So many people come to the prom just to sit and enjoy the views, relax, walk -with or without dogs, bird watch etc. Why should locals/visitors to the prom be charged to park? Local streets will be used instead and residents will find parking near their houses difficult. Does anyone know of a petition to sign objecting to these outrageous proposals?
a petition can be easily started by placing objection on a piece of paper with 4/5 columns, stand on prom and ask everyone who passes their opinion… they sign, add address and date, this goes off to the Council before their meeting.
We got over 100 signatures doing this (for another objection) over just a few hours. People were glad to sign.
People shouldn’t have to pay…
however, living very close to the sailing club and ex lifeboat station new café/bistro…. on heavy party nights when the prom parking overflows into the residential streets close by… residents already have problems parking outside their houses so something would have to be organised to stop parking congestion. So, street parking would get even worse. Residential permits? There are some families with 4/5 motors, and how would visitors to the guest houses needing 4 spaces plus or Air B&B parking work? This has to be thought out carefully or we will be left with massive off-prom into residential parking.
I’m afraid my opinion of the Council members who are contemplating this decision, should look to the future. The Governmentare the same, having little or no idea of what the people they represent are thinking. I say look to the future, because people are getting so fed up with some of the decisions made by this Council recently, the new Golf Centre for example, that memories are going to linger when the next elections are due. Some of our Councilors have been in office for so long, they tend to forget who put them there and why.
There was a peaceful town called Hoylake
Where people lived in harmony,
They never had no kind of trouble,
There was no hint of misery.
The town saloon was always lively,
But never nasty or obscene,
Behind the bar stood one of the Johnstons.
He always kept things nice and clean.
the Crazy gang reborn this useless labour council
What’s the next scheme from their top script writer charging to sit on benches they provide attaching meters to them when your seating time is up they eject you
Give them the idea they probably would
Stupid idea but don’t blame me, I voted Conservative. Makes you wonder to what level congestion in the side streets will reach.
A stupid idea,if people go to New Brighton the have free parking to bring visitors. They should think of ideas to stop wasting money within the Council and instead think of more ideas to bring people,e to Hoylake. Many years ago we had a pitch and putt golf course, beautiful gardens with well kept tennis courts,canoe area. They have just got rid of all these facilities which people enjoyed,this is the last straw.
No,no,no, what has to be done to stop this?
I would like to read more about what we can do to STOP this.
There must be some legal minds out there who can advice..
Hi, I can do a daily survey of parked/ through cars between Kings gap and Lifeboat station each day for 7 days. Is there anyone who can do the same between Lifeboat and Meols and again the next stretch. Then we will have a legitimate view of the supposed congestion. We will need a set time each day for all areas… anyone else to do this with me? Or is it worth it?
ajbd, it doesn’t matter how many petitions you give to the council they are going to do it anyway, but if 20 travellers caravans along with their trucks park up on the promenade the council wouldn’t charge them, their excuse would be they are travellers without permanent residence and they will be gone within a few days, but we would like volunteers to clear up the mess they have made along our promenade.