There has been a storm of controversy surrounding the charges levied at four of the car parks owned by Ashfield District Council in the town.

And Coun Mick Murphy (Con), a Hucknall member of Notts County Council, collected hundreds of names on a petition calling for the charges to be axed.

Many believe this would encourage more shoppers into the town centre and boost prospects ahead of a multi-million pound regeneration masterplan

Now, in a letter to Hucknall's Labour MP, Paddy Tipping, Ashfield Council's chief executive, Alan Mellor, has confirmed that parking fees will be reassessed.

But this will not happen until a project to crack down on illegal parking has been running for six months.

In May, civil parking enforcement officers hit the streets after the responsibility for enforcing parking regulations switched from the police to a partnership of Notts County Council and the district councils.

The letter from Mr Mellor is in response to revelations from Mr Tipping that Hucknall "pays more than its fair share" when it comes to parking charges.

Figures show that the four paid-for car-parks owned by Ashfield in Hucknall – Piggins Croft, Station Road, Yorke Street and Market Place – brought in £386,000 between April 2003 and March this year.

That translates to 53% of the overall total for the entire district of £722,000.

Mr Mellor added: "Regenerating the town centres across the district is a corporate priority and I can assure you that all efforts are directed into delivering solutions.

"Car-parking provision and charging regimes, both council-owned and private, are key elements of this strategy.

"You will also be aware that we have initiated a town-centre masterplan exercise for Hucknall to provide regeneration, meet the needs of the community and attract investors. We are committed to delivering the catalysts that regenerate our town centres."