Bollington residents to fund free parking?

Bollington Town Council is proposing to dip into the pockets of residents to keep free car parking and keep its library open.

Cheshire East Council is introducing parking fees across the borough – some that have always been free – leading to a number of protests.

Bollington Town Council is considering increasing its council tax precept by a third to fund the costs .

The town council has said that if the plans were approved, the precept – the sum that parish and town councils charge as part council tax – would increase for a band D home from £89.78 a year to £124.98 – increasing council tax by £35.20.

In itself not a lot, but add Cheshire East’s inevitable 5% annual rise and other increases for cheshire police precept and the fire authority precept and council tax will rise exponentially.

If the cost increase is backed by residents, Cheshire East Council would continue to maintain the Pool Bank car park but there would be no cost to park there.

The town council is also proposing to pay for an extra 16.5 hours of staff time to keep the library open for longer hours.

Cheshire East Council is seeking to cut library opening hours across the borough, but has proposed that parish councils could fund the hours facing the axe.

A consultation on the proposals runs until 15 November.