COUNCILS are being told by the Government to cut the cost of car parking in a bid to save ailing town centres.

Opponents of increases in car parking charges in Wiltshire have been buoyed by new government guidance which flies in the face of Wiltshire Council’s move, back in April, to increase some charges by up to 200 per cent – a decision which has seen a dramatic fall in car park usage in recent months.

The Government cannot force councils to change their car parking charges policy but it can issue recommendations.

Eric Pickles, the Government’s communities secretary, said: “These parking restrictions have hit small shops the hardest, creating ghost town high streets which can’t compete with out-of-town supermarkets.

“We want to see more parking spaces to help small shops prosper in local high streets and assist mums struggling with their family shop.”

Wiltshire Council gave in to pressure in Salisbury on Tuesday when it agreed to reduce car parking charges in the city after 7,000 people signed a petition calling for the reintroduction of one hour parking.

Before April it cost £1 to park for an hour, but after April there was a minimum two hour charge of £2.20, which traders says has resulted in a 30 per cent drop in trade and 200,000 less car users coming in to the city.

Now council leader Jane Scott has confirmed one hour parking at a cost of £1.50 will be introduced. This amount will remain fixed for three years.

Coun Scott has refused to reduce the cost for the rest of Wiltshire, a stance which Rob Perks, chairman of the Chippenham Chamber of Commerce, believes Wiltshire Council cannot maintain.

He said: “They are under pressure now and I am going on the assumption that we will see a change here too in the end.”

Mr Perks said the Wessex Association of Chambers is considering legal action against the council citing Government guidance under the Road Traffic Act 1984, which states that “(car parking) charges should not be used to raise revenue or as a local tax and an authority is likely to be acting unlawfully if it were to do so”.

He said: “We would agree with what Eric Pickles has said. Why did everyone’s takings plummet when the new parking charges came in? It’s too coincidental.”

Coun Dick Tonge, Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for car parking, has rejected Mr Pickles’ claims. He said: “Our research shows that while car parking charges may have some impact it is in fact the retail offering available to shoppers that will affect the success of town centres.”