Campaigners fighting the introduction of new parking charges in three Suffolk towns claim council chiefs are not listening to them after revealing their proposed tariffs.
Parking in Sudbury, Hadleigh and Lavenham is currently free for three hours, but Babergh District Council announced it could no longer subsidise free parking as it faced a £6.7million budget gap.
It proposes an introduction of a £1 charge for short stay parking for the first hour or £1 for two hours in long stay parking, as well as a reduction in the cost of all day parking in Sudbury and Hadleigh from £3 to £2.50.
Paul Clover, who represents Lavenham on Babergh District Council and who was behind a petition to save free parking which garnered more than 8,000 signatures, said he feels there are still questions left unanswered.
"The consultation part has only just finished and all of a sudden they are whipping it straight through to overview and scrutiny committee," he said.
"What we don't know is what it is going to cost us to run this and nobody is answering the question.
"It shows the pre-determination here, and that they already wanted to do it.
"The frustration is that there has been no assessment on the damage this will have on the community.
"My argument has been about the protection of the businesses and to make these places, these town centres, viable. They are on a knife edge and they could do without this."
Kathryn Grandon, who represents Hadleigh South on the council, said: "I am quite concerned that the consultation with town councils and parish councils only finished I think last week and yet they are already publishing the tariffs.
"It all seems to me that they've completely disregarded the comments from the town and parish councils, as I know that Sudbury, Lavenham and Hadleigh have all been against tariffs.
"What was the point of the consultation, really? They have spent a lot of time discussing it in meetings and putting together comments but haven't been listened to in the slightest."
There are no plans to introduce charges for parking on Sundays or Bank Holidays in Sudbury, Hadleigh or Lavenham, and Blue Badge holders will continue to be allowed to park for free for up to three hours in any bay of all council car parks.
However, cllr Grandon said: "The free Sunday offer is not really offering anything at all because everything is closed on Sundays in Hadleigh, apart from the two pubs. It is no consolation really."
The plans are due to go before the overview and scrutiny committee on March 18, before returning to the cabinet in April.
The council said the charges, if agreed, would minimise the subsidy required to operate the car parks, and improve the overall budget by around £0.75m per year.
Babergh District Council leader, cllr David Busby said: "We have said all along that we would rather not have to introduce short-term parking charges, and that if we have to do so, we will ensure that they are modest, fair, and that we take on board suggestions and feedback from the communities affected.
"There is no escaping the fact that we face a significant financial challenge ahead. We have a total budget gap of £6.7m in the next four years, with only £2.4m of reserves available. Although the recommendations in this proposal help in part, they do not solve the whole problem. There will be further difficult decisions ahead."
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