The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) say the practice of councils using parking charges to raise revenue is killing town centres.
Figures show that in 2005, local authorities made £1.6 billion from parking charges and fines – up from £628 mill
ion in 1997.
The FSB warn that town-centre parking laws will backfire in the long term as high-street shops go out of business and the wealth and employment they create is lost because shoppers refuse to pay to park.
The group are calling for authorities like Ashfield District Council to employ sensible parking-policies that encourage shoppers to use small, independent shops on the high street.
In Hucknall, there have been constant complaints about having to pay to park in the town centre.
Paul Maloney, FSB regional chairman for Nottinghamshire, said: "Every town is different and you can't impose exactly the same parking policies everywhere.
"But local authorities should come up with a set of criteria for parking policies that encourage shoppers into town centres, rather than turning them away.
"Although parking restrictions can raise a lot of cash in the short term, they can be extremely damaging to local economies and ultimately counter-productive as shops begin to close."
The full article contains 235 words and appears in Hucknall Dispatch newspaper.
