Conservatives urge Labour to help boost high streets and give area a chance this Christmas

Cheshire West and Chester Conservatives have today called for a number of changes to support our high streets, residents and local businesses in the run up to Christmas.

Speaking at a meeting of the CWaC Cabinet on Wednesday 25 November, the group have proposed:

• Making Park and Ride FREE after 10am on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays;
• Making all CWaC car parks FREE after 10am on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays;
• Making all CWaC car parks FREE AFTER 3pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesday and Thursdays; and calling a halt to the ‘experimental active travel lanes’ on the A51 in Boughton and over the Grosvenor Bridge near Overleigh.

Commenting following the meeting, Conservative Group Leader, Cllr Margaret Parker, said:

 “Local Conservatives are first and foremost champions for our community.

“We know residents have faced massive upheaval this year: two national lockdowns, special occasions affected by not being able to meet up with family and friends, redundancies, businesses struggling and the tragic loss of human life with so many deaths as a result of the pandemic.

“We all need a positive boost in the run up to the festive season, particularly all those working on our high streets, in the hospitality industry and indeed our residents too.

“Our proposals for Park and Ride, local parking and around ending the experimental active travel lanes represent an honest and practical way to really make a difference. The leadership of the Council have it in their gift to take this positive action. I call on them to commit to it today and give our area a chance this Christmas.”

Calling for a radical plan for 'Park and Ride' and parking locally between now and April 2021, Cllr Neil Sullivan, Shadow Cabinet Member for Legal and Finance said:

“With national lockdown ending next week, the Council needs to do something to invest in our retail and hospitality centres as we approach the crucial Christmas period.

“We know many of them have been struggling so desperately as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, despite unprecedented support from the Government to protect jobs and livelihoods. Other local authorities are responding and acting in a proportionate and sensible way and we urge the leadership of our Council to do the same. The reason is simple: we want to save jobs, boost viable businesses and protect future business rates. And we believe our proposals are affordable too. The Government have covered all bar £1 million of our local Covid-19 costs and lost income and the authority has a projected £1.6 million underspend this year. This would be a relatively small cost (around £0.6 million) but the payback would be huge. Let’s do it!” 

 Calling for the experimental active travel lanes in Boughton (A51) and across Grosvenor Bridge in Chester to be suspended, Cllr Simon Eardley, Shadow Cabinet Member for Highways said:

 “This isn’t some sort of political opportunism. It’s time to listen to the 3,000+ people who have joined the community group on Facebook in Boughton and indeed Chester’s Labour MP who believes the A51 experiment in particular just isn’t working.

“Passions are high and there’s been some blunt talking at times on this, but if this is a listening council, we need to see that happen now. Queuing traffic is bad for the environment, the health of residents and the economy. We can change this and respond to what local people – those affected most – are telling us.

“The council says it wants to boost our high streets with a renewed focus on consumer experience, access and convenience. This experiment has proven to be the opposite of that aspiration. In a safe way, let’s boost the prospects of our hard-working businesses, our local traders, our independent shops, the hospitality sector and our major heritage assets this Christmas, all of whom have struggled recently.

“With our high streets at a vital juncture, we know in many cases it is a battle for survival. Let’s give Chester a chance this Christmas and scrap these damaging experimental lanes now.”