TRADERS AND civic leaders in two Shropshire market towns today begged transport chiefs to scrap parking charges, claiming they were destroying the high street.

Shrewsbury town centre traders reacted with outrage after Shropshire Council today unveiled plans to increase parking charges – just a week after they were asked to drop them.

Business leaders accused council officials of being “idiotic” and claimed their new proposals would destroy the town centre. And in Wem, residents have called on the authority to abolish car parking charges in the town altogether.

Members of Wem Civic Society have written to Owen Paterson, the MP for North Shropshire, asking him to persuade the council to change its parking policy.

In April, new off-street charges of up to £1.80 a day were introduced in Wem, sparking an outcry from residents and traders who say the charges have hit business hard and they fear there will be an increase in empty shops.

A letter written by Edwin Hargraves, chairman of the civic society, to Mr Paterson, says: “Car parking charges in Wem have begun to have a seriously negative impact on the trade in the town.”

In Shrewsbury, the council wants to increase charges for a number of pay and display bays on town centre streets by 10p for up to one hour’s parking, by 20p for over an hour, and 30p for over an hour-and-a-half.

It also wants to increase the hours of operation of the pay and display parking bays so that they start at 8am, 30 minutes earlier than at present.

But the council says motorcycle parking would be free and more accessible, with specific bays being available 24 hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week.

John Hall, from the Shop in the Loop group, said he was stunned by the plans.

He said: “I think it’s basically idiotic. If they are looking to destroy Shrewsbury town centre they are certainly going about it in the right way.”

Councillor Simon Jones, council cabinet member for transport, said: “When full council agreed the budget in March, it included an annual increase of inflation plus four per cent for parking charges as a way of protecting frontline services in the face of recent Government spending cuts.”

He said the parking strategy in Wem was introduced to make parking charges fairer across the county.