Pay and display parking meters to stay, says Cheshire East Council

Cheshire East Council says it has no plans to scrap pay and display parking meters and force drivers to use a parking app, writes Belinda Ryan.

According to a report in the Times, some local councils are axing the traditional pay and display machines as mobile phone operators are switching off the 3G data network which power them.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands this has already happened in Harrow, where drivers now have three options to pay – either via PayByPhone app, the call or text service, or by paying in cash at a nearby PayPoint convenience store.

More councils are expected to ditch their meters later this year.

But Cheshire East Council said this week it will not be scrapping pay and display.

A council spokesperson said: “Cheshire East Council has no plans to reduce the number of pay and display machines in operation on its car parks, and the council’s current provider has been upgrading machines to 4G.

“We have no plans to require people to pay via a parking app.”

Cheshire East faced a fierce backlash from residents and some councillors during the pandemic in 2020 when it made its meters cashless.

Many residents, mostly elderly, contacted the press to complain, saying they were unable to pay to park because they didn’t have a smartphone.

They were also worried about paying by credit card.

Cheshire East bowed to public pressure at that time and re-introduced cash payments at its car parks a couple of months later.