NEW parking meters are being rolled out across the borough, giving drivers more ways to pay for a space.

Cheshire East Council unveiled the first of its new pay-and-display machines in Crewe on Thursday, June 1, with the promise of a better service for residents, shoppers and visitors across the borough.

The new machines are expected to be more robust and reliable than the outgoing meters, and will accept all methods of payment, except banknotes.

Cllr David Brown, CEC cabinet member for highways and infrastructure, said: “The old parking meters had been in circulation for a very long time and we needed to modernise our parking offer.

“We are starting to install the new meters in Crewe and will be continuing the installation programme across the borough over the next six weeks.

“We have listened to our residents’ concerns about availability of appropriate means of paying and I believe that we now offer a very broad range of options, which will suit all purposes.”

As the old machines are unable to accept the new £1 coin, the council took the decision to start installing the new meters early.

The new machines accept both the old and new £1 coins which are currently in circulation, and will also be able to take contactless payments.

Motorists will still be able to pay for their parking via the RingGo mobile payment app, while chip and pin for both debit and credit cards will soon be available as a means for payment.

Card payments are expected to be available during June.

The machines have also been designed to prevent the transfer of tickets between drivers, with users required to enter their vehicle registration number when prompted, during the payment process.