Council clampdown on free parking near Walton Gardens

HOT on the heels of increasing car parking charges at Walton Hall & Gardens, Warrington Borough Council is clamping down on free parking in the area.

The council is proposing to amend a Street Parking Places (Civil Enforcement) consolidation order to include Walton Golf Course car park and Walton Crematorium car park.

Walton Hall car park, where parking charges are set to increase from June 1st, operates as a public pay and display car park 7 days per week. It is accessed via Walton Lea Road and provides a parking facility for visitors to Walton Hall and Gardens.

There are two car parks located within close proximity to Walton Hall Pay and Display car park. These car parks provide parking for Walton Golf Course and Walton Crematorium. They are free to use permitting an unlimited duration of stay.
This allows for a minority of motorists to park free of charge on either Walton Golf Course or Walton Crematorium car parks whilst visiting Walton Hall Gardens without paying for a parking session.
To provide for a deterrent, whist not penalising genuine visitors to both Walton Golf Course and Walton Crematorium, it is proposed for both car parks to be added to the current Off-Street Order with the following conditions:

Walton Hall Crematorium
It is proposed that Walton Crematorium car park is restricted to 1 hour maximum duration of stay with no return for 2 hours. Effective during weekends and Bank Holidays only, as these are the days when the majority of visitors to Walton Hall Gardens are parking on the Crematorium car park to avoid Parking charges. Parking would continue to be unlimited Monday to Friday.

Walton Golf Course
It is proposed that parking charges are introduced at the same levels as Walton Hall Gardens car park. If approved a Pay and display machine would be located in the car park and a pay and display ticket would be issued on purchase of parking time along with a voucher. The pay and display ticket would be clearly displayed on the dashboard or windscreen of the vehicle whilst the voucher would be taken into the Golf course reception where the parking charge may be refunded upon the purchasing of green fees.