COUNTY councillors say they are not to blame for the decline in trade in Wiltshire towns since car parking charges were increased in April.

A report into the effects of the changes claims the number of people using council-run car parks was already in decline and any downturn in trade in market towns should be blamed on the range of businesses on offer.

The council’s claim contradicts statistics which show the number of vacant shops in Wiltshire towns decreased in 2011 compared with the previous year.

In Chippenham, 8.1 per cent of shops were vacant compared with 10.3 per cent in 2010, while in Devizes, 6.8 per cent were empty compared with 7.9 per cent last year. In Marlborough, the number of vacant shops dropped from 8 per cent to 5.8 per cent from 2010 to 2011.

Wiltshire Council is pointing to the number of tickets sold in off-street parking sites county-wide in a year-on-year comparison. Annual ticket sales had declined from 4,274,523 from April 2009 to March 2010, to 4,038,743 from April 2010 to March 2011.

In the report, which will be discussed by Cabinet members at their meeting next Tuesday, Mark Boden, corporate director for neighbourhood and planning, said: “Research shows that what a town has to offer is the primary factor affecting economic health, not parking charges. Parking ticket sales were already in decline before the introduction of the new parking charges in April.

“Neighbouring local authorities are also reporting a decline in car park usage and/or an income shortfall.

“A large number of local authorities have either brought in increased parking charges or are considering such a move. A few have reduced their charges with limited and mixed results.”

The findings are likely to mean there will be no change in the council’s car parking charges in the near future.

It added: “It was planned that an analysis of the current car parking charges would have been undertaken in early 2012. Carrying out the analysis now means that behaviour patterns are still in a state of flux and there is not a significant timeline of post-implementation evidence available.”