PARKING PERKS FOR MARKET TRADERS ‘NOT FAIR’ ON REST OF TOWN

By timesecholife on in Latest News

PARKING PERKS SIMPLY UNFAIR

PARKING concessions for traders at Cheadle’s new outdoor market should be extended to businesses across the town, according to civic leaders.
Restrictions on the main Tape Street car park have been relaxed for stallholders at the Greyhound Walk facility.
Traders at the Friday market, operated by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, are allowed to leave their vehicles for double the normal three-hour time limit – and receive the second hours free.
But town councillors insist the subsidy, which does not apply to the existing market or other businesses, is discriminatory.
Cllr Ron Locker described the policy as ‘simply unfair’.
He said: “It’s just not right that traders at the market are given dispensation on parking charges which do not apply to everyone else in the town.
“Other businesses and their staff, many of whom live in this area, have to pay full whack so why should people from elsewhere be given this benefit alone – it’s just not on.
“The whole idea of introducing parking charges was to ensure a quicker turnaround of cars, so to bring in a policy like this doesn’t make any sense.
“There’s a long-stay car park in Well Street for traders and that’s where they should be.”
Cllr Ray Wood believes the parking concessions are a ‘clear discrimination’ against other businesses in the town.
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