Car parking charges are returning to a Wirral shopping centre.
Fees at the car park at Cherry Tree Shopping Centre, Liscard, return tomorrow, Wednesday August 25, after a new operator - Smart Parking - took over the site.
Parking charges have been temporarily suspended the past two weeks, while a new operator was being organised.
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In a post on Facebook, the Cherry Tree Centre announced tariffs would remain at previous rates and customers would need to take their car registration to the machine in order to purchase a ticket.
The post said: "Smart Parking, who have taken over the operation of the car parks will be resuming charges on WEDNESDAY 25th AUGUST 2021.
"When purchasing a ticket from the payment machines for the duration of your visit you must enter your FULL, CORRECT vehicle registration.
"A Smart Parking attendant will be situated in the car park, should assistance be required."
Tariffs for the car park will be 70p for an hour, 80p for two hours, £1.20 for three hours, going up incrementally to £7.80 for stays over 6 hours.
The news sparked some debate after the announcement was shared in local Facebook Groups.
One person said: "Absolute madness they’re still charging to park there, no wonder the centre is on its knees."
Another person said: "Think I’ll be swerving this car park from now on."
Others found the price reasonable, with one person saying: "That's not too bad at all."
Another said: "Bargain."
Most people, however, were unhappy with the idea of inputting registrations.
One person said: "Sometimes I don’t have change so always get more hours than I need if only going to the bank then give my ticket to someone else when I’m finished .
Why have they got to complicate things and just leave things alone."
Another said: "The sad truth is the older generation of weekly shopper just want to put their money in and display a ticket not spend 20 mins trying to work a machine.
"It will kill this shopping Centre."
Another commenter added: "Don’t like putting your registration number on ticket , means you can’t give it to anyone, mean."
While another person said: "I won't put my registration into these machines. That's me no longer coming to Liscard."
One person suggested it could encourage people to park in residential streets, with one saying they don't use paid parking anyway.
He said: "I don’t pay anyway , I park and walk."
Others were confused as to whether the charges would apply to people dropping someone off and blue badge holders.
A spokesperson for the Cherry Tree Centre confirmed on the post that people will have a "ten minute grace period" and Blue Badge Holders will be eligible for free parking for up to three hours.
The spokesperson also said maintenance work is planned to deal with potholes in the car park, saying: "Smart Parking will be carrying out maintenance on the car park over the next six months."
The Cherry Tree Centre spokesperson also said charges were the norm in the car park, stating: "Apart from during the Covid Pandemic and during the last two weeks charges for parking have always been in place."
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