Leader hopes parking charges will change habits

The authority agreed to the increases despite protests from businesses who feared a drop in trade

The leader of Shropshire Council hopes higher parking charges will make people think twice about driving into town.

The authority agreed to increases in its car parks and on-street parking, despite protests from businesses who feared a drop in trade.

Opposition parties called the new charges excessive, but Conservative leader Lezley Picton said the aim was to reduce congestion in towns such as Shrewsbury.

She said her message to motorists was: "Try and use other facilities to come into town, think about coming into town by park and ride, think about parking on the edge of town and walking in."

The changes include new charges for evenings and Sundays in Shrewsbury, and an increase of up to 50% to the hourly charge for some car parks on weekdays and Saturdays.

On-street parking in Shrewsbury has also risen by 80p an hour to £3.60.

Ms Picton said she wanted to see cars parking elsewhere and added: "In some cases those cars can be there all day. They're in the wrong place."

She said she did not expect the increased charges to reduce the number of people visiting town centres.