Controversial proposals for parking charges in Bury St Edmunds are to be considered by senior councillors.
Controversial proposals for parking charges in Bury St Edmunds are to be considered by senior councillors.
West Suffolk Council's cabinet will run the rule over plans to raise charges before any final decision is taken after the scheme was referred to them by the authority's overview and scrutiny committee.
The plans have provoked uproar from traders and residents in Bury, who say the initiative would be highly damaging to the town. An online petition urging the council to think again has also been launched.
The Bury proposals were part of a package of proposals across the district that came before the committee on Thursday night (January 23).
They include a number of rises to Bury parking tariffs, as well as scrapping the Free from 3pm initiative on Tuesdays at the town centre short-stay car parks.
The largest increases put forward by the West Suffolk Parking Review Group include a daily ticket of £4 at the Parkway multi-storey car park for Monday to Friday, compared to £2.70 currently.
The recommendations also include scrapping a £1 night charge but extending the normal charging tariff to 8pm.
The committee agreed all the Bury proposals should be submitted for consideration by the council's ruling cabinet at its meeting on February 11.
A council spokesman said it was agreed the cabinet be asked to look at keeping Free from 3 scheme and extending it to include 8am to 12 midday on Wednesday, and to also look at removal of the night charge.
Mark Cordell, chief executive of the Our Bury St Edmunds Business Improvement District said: "I'm delighted that the committee decided, as I suggested, to refer the whole issue surrounding car parking in Bury St Edmunds to the cabinet.
"I am confident that the senior leaders of the district will give full consideration to the impact this will have on local businesses and residents.
"The report currently appears to have been created solely from the perspective of income generation for the council, but car parking is a much bigger issue than that."
The cabinet will also consider Free from 3 schemes for markets in Haverhill and Newmarket, and charging rates for electrical vehicle bays.
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