Row over planned night-time parking fee

City of Durham Parish Council called cars parking there a "blight" on the area

A row has broken out over a proposed change to fees to allow cars to enter a city centre.

Durham County Council has suggested increasing the charge to access its historic peninsula from £2 to £5 per day.

But the City of Durham Parish Council said it wanted drivers to be charged each time they enter the area over a day, and claimed "inconsiderate" parking was "blighting" the evening ambience.

The local authority said it shared concerns about the high number of parked vehicles and would review the plans' effectiveness.

The county council has also proposed charging road users on Sundays and bank holidays - not including Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day - as well as increasing the time during which cars face parking fees.

Drivers are currently charged between 10:00 GMT to 16:00 GMT on Monday through to Saturday.

The local authority, which is run as an alliance, is proposing to extend this to 02:00 GMT daily.

Parish council executive officer Adam Shanley said the city's medieval peninsula had been subjected to "significant abuse by a number of road users", particularly after 20:00 GMT when parking officers were not on duty.

He said pedestrian safety was at risk.

'Full unfettered access'

Parish council chair Susan Walker said she "applauded" some of the council's planned changes but said the £5 fee did not go far enough.

She said it would mean that once paid, a vehicle could have "full unfettered" access to the city's peninsula.

"This will simply be ineffective in addressing the main issue that residents regularly contact us about," she said.

The local authority said it hoped its proposals would act as a "deterrent" to parking in the area.

The parish council said a decision over the proposals was expected in the new year.