Two hundred of Cheshire East Council’s 3,200 staff have an access card to park for FREE in the multi-storey car park in Crewe, writes Belinda Ryan.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service asked the council about staff parking after a Crewe businessman said he had witnessed cars leaving at the same time on numerous days and driving straight through on number plate recognition.
“I assume the vast majority of these are Cheshire East employees,” he said.
Referring to the low number of cars which use the 390-space car park, he added: “Given the fact that only a few cars need to use the next level up and potentially many of these are Cheshire East staff or visitors, what prospect is there of this ever being anything more that an over large Cheshire East car park?
“Nurses at hospitals have to pay to park at their place of work.”
It emerged earlier this year that the £11 million car park made a loss of nearly £70,000 in its first six months of operation.
Questions have been asked by the public about whether council staff pay to park there, especially after the introduction of parking charges a few months ago in previously “free” towns and the hike in prices next week, together with the introduction of evening and Sunday charging.
Cllr Mark Goldsmith (Wilmslow, Ind) chair of the highways and transport committee, said: “Currently 200 eligible staff have an access card for parking in Crewe’s multi-storey car park.
“The Crewe bus station and multi-storey car park was built to encourage the regeneration of the town centre.
“I am therefore pleased to see it is starting to have a positive effect with several planning applications recently lodged for new retail and residential developments nearby.”
He added: “Cheshire East Council employs around 3,200 staff, and our staff parking permit scheme has strict criteria, so a large majority don’t have a pass.
“Eligible staff include social workers, ICT and green spaces staff. As an example, these critical staff need to have access to car parks to drop off and pick up case work documents for use in court.
“Car parking and access is under constant review; there are strict terms of use that include using the permit only on working days and it can be withdrawn if it’s misused.
“Both quarterly and annual contract permits are available to staff and the public with discounted costs compared with a daily parking charge.
“Our aim is that the current arrangement provides a fair and robust permit scheme that is financially sustainable and ensures business continuity.”
I completely agree with Eddie, the provision of free car parking is subject to income tax since it is classed as a perk or benefit.
When I was in employment I had to pay a monetary sum to off-set tax implications. Is such a scheme in place at CNBC or is this a completey free perk.
Time for Reform to bring in its DOGE review?
This is nothing new, they used to park for free under the library. Once the library was knocked down then they needed somewhere else, so guess what, the tax payer can fund a multi storey car park for CE employees and they can make out it’s for town centre regeneration! Criminal.
Absolute joke wasting our council tax money on a
car park it is a joke there is nothing in crewe Town centre to justify the car park its a dump and yet the council tax goes up and up each year and the town has nothing to be proud off. Just wasting our hard earned money when they know times are hard with everything going up. It’s an utter joke.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of this, Cllr Goldsmith should be embarrassed putting out such nonsense. Green Spaces? Drop off and pick up documents? Under constant review? Anyone can see that this just looks bad and his attempt to justify it is laughable.
Please advise us of the meaning of “Green Spaces Staff”.? That is a job role that is new to me. Is It usual CEC jargon? See their agenda reports for other similar meaningless statements.
Response to the Voice of Reason.
Please compare employment contracts objectively between the public sector and the private sector.
The cost of public sector pensions add between 20% to 25% on the basic salary cost. Private sector employers pay a very small percentage of income costs into employees pension. Yes it is better than nothing.
Holidays in the public sector far more generous.
Flexi time in Cheshire East Council can add potentially 12 days leave a year.
Having worked in the private sector 50 hour weeks were not unusual. I was paid for 35 hours. Very often is was many more hours.
Study leave in the public sector is more likely than the private.
My daughter worked 450 extra hours in her own time to enhance her qualifications. No study leave.
You have to compare like with like including job evaluation normally Hay job evaluation. There are other management criteria to achieve the same objectives. Through job families.
Sick leave is much higher in the public sector. Employees know they can get away with sick leave. Trust me that does not happen in the private sector.
If you doubt me check the details of Cheshire East sick leave and the cost of temporary staff.
It was highlighted on Nantwich news some months ago.
Let me honest the public sector appear to avoid performance management with those incompetent officers who fail to deliver.
There are some very significant examples, the multi storey car park,
11million on consultants for HS2.
The purchase of excess mobile phones for employees. These are jus a few examples. Cheshire East Council lack any form of transparency wherever possible.
Over next few months we will see the evidence from Reform run councils who have made a policy decision to review expenditure with focus on waste.
The proof of the Pudding is always in the eating!!!
Every time I look on here I’m astounded by a new CEC low.
Animal farm and the big fat pigs walking upright .
Meanwhile, the heroes of Leighton Hospital pay daily through the nose. Why is everything in politics so sleazy?
Labour run #CheshireEast have spent £11 MILLION of our Council taxes to build a multi storey car park in Crewe town centre so the Council staff can park FREE of charge !!!!
Absolutely correct that frontline council staff working in the community should have access to free parking BUT so should healthcare workers and support staff too at the local hospital, who might I add see their parking charges go up year on year and taken from their salaries at source whether they are there or not!!! Absolute terrible two tier situations
It is shocking!!
No one with an ounce of common sense would build this car park at a cost of 11 millions pounds without a very detailed business plan and swot analysis. It costs £90,000 per year in operational costs, it generates less than £20,000 in revenue. It is lunacy at best!!!
It is just incompetent. Then to allow your employees to park free, when Cheshire East is charging the citizen who have paid for this disastrous loss making car park extortionate car parking fees is simply disgusting.
I am absolutely disgusted to read about the parking situation and especially Cheshire East abusing it for the staff.
Just another SLAP in the face for the NHS WORKER.
If they want to use it to park then do the same thing charge the employee’s of Cheshire East a yearly service charge.
No wonder why we are in a mess.
Tell me how did they cope before the car park was built.
THIS CHESHIRE EAST COUNCIL IS TOTALLY OUT OF ORDER AND OUT OF TOUCH GET A GRIP.
ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED TAX PAYER.
So what? Non-management public sector workers are paid peanuts. Free parking is probably the only way they can keep some of the staff. There are no other perks!
I’ve never seen more than about 10 at most when I’ve been past it
Although I can see both sides of the story it does look like double standards when Nurses and doctors have to pay at the hospital.
If the council staff do require parking why not use the carparks either side of office block.
so 50% of the space are going as freebies, we all must live in a parallel universe to this lot
This is a taxable benefit as it is free car park is not wholly and exclusively used in the performance of the said duties, I trust HMIT. have been informed or will CCE be picking up any costs incurred by their staff ( in other words council tax payers