A town council has unanimously opposed the implementation of parking charges in a Suffolk district following a meeting attended by almost 40 members of public.
Sudbury Town Council met for an extraordinary meeting of the full council at 7pm on Tuesday to debate the controversial proposals by Babergh District Council for the introduction of short term parking charges.
Three hours of free parking is currently available in car parks in towns and villages throughout the Babergh district, including Sudbury, Hadleigh and Lavenham.
But the cost of subsidising the free parking has cost the authority about £425,000 last year and it is set to increase this year.
Now the authority, which is facing a budget cap of £1.5million next year, says it can no longer afford to fund the subsidy if it is to continue to deliver other essential services.
Jan Osborne, mayor of Sudbury, said: "It was a good meeting with robust debate. Thirty-seven members of the public attended.
"It was unanimous that the town council opposes the implementation of parking charges and a letter outlining the reasons for this to be sent to all district councillors at Babergh.
"The town council will also be talking to other parish and town councils, including our Essex neighbours."
The new tariffs would only apply to council-run car parks, with existing on-street parking remaining unchanged and blue badge holders still able to park in the council’s car parks for free.
If the proposals to change parking tariffs at Babergh's cabinet on Tuesday, January 9 are approved, officers will then meet with town and parish councils.
A further report will then go back to cabinet in April. Councillors on the authority's overview and scrutiny committee will also consider any changes to car parking tariffs alongside wider draft budget proposals.
In December, an online petition was set up to help save free parking in the three locations, which now has more than 2,900 signatures.
Some community leaders have said they believe plans should be curbed, including Lavenham councillor Paul Clover, who said the move could "kill retail" in the area.
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