On-street parking charges in Chester will begin soon

On-street parking charges at three locations in Chester are due to begin from Wednesday, 31 March to ensure spaces are available for those visiting local shops, bars and restaurants.

As part of Cheshire West and Chester Council’s parking strategy for the city, the on-street limited waiting bays on City Road, Brook Street and Foregate Street will become pay and display parking bays.

The pandemic delayed the implementation of these charges, which were initially planned to begin in May 2020.

The Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Strategic Transport, Councillor Karen Shore said: “The introduction of charges in these locations will ensure everyone can park where they need to, when they need to. Due to a lack of parking available in areas such as Brook Street, vehicles are often found parked on the pavement where yellow lines are present, which causes road safety issues.”

For added convenience, the permitted length of stay is being increased on City Road to two hours and on Foregate Street to one hour. Brook Street will remain the same at one hour because of the large number of vehicles parking there throughout the day.

Charging in City Road and Foregate Street will apply between 8am and 9pm and in Brook Street between 6pm and 9pm.  Charging on City Road will begin at 2pm on Sundays.

Between 8am and 6pm there will be a charge of £1 per hour with a maximum stay of two hours on City Road and one hour on Foregate Street.  Return will be prohibited within one hour.

Between 6pm and 9pm there will be a £1 flat rate.

Councillor Shore added: “We listened to local businesses in Brook Street, who expressed concerns that parking charges would add to the cost of relatively low value purchases, so removed charges before 6pm because of this.  The post 6pm charge remains to help manage demand for the variety of parking in the area, such as hospitality, residents and visitors."

This will ensure parking in Chester is fit for purpose and positively contributes to the city’s economy.  This plan, designed to better manage car parking demand across the city, is part of the Council’s 15-year parking strategy.