YORK highways bosses have pulled another U-turn on city centre parking after unveiling plans to create more evening spaces.

The 80 new spaces on Duncombe Place, Goodramgate, Walmgate, Blake Street, Fossgate, Lendal, Piccadilly, St Denys' Road and Stonebow could become available from the middle of next month assuming there are no major objections to the advertised traffic orders.

Last month, City of York Council chiefs bowed to pressure from city centre restaurateurs who said York's evening parking bans had badly affected trade.

They agreed to install seven parking meters in streets where double yellow lines were painted last year.

The meters were being brought in from car parks in Kent Street and the Barbican and will be put in Fossgate, Duncombe Place, Blake Street, Goodramgate, Walmgate West, Lendal and Stonebow.

Two further streets, Piccadilly and St Denys Road, could become "frequent user pass bays", until more parking meters become available.

Stuart Hall, who runs Tricksters restaurant and Mason's Bistro, in Fossgate, said the decision was "excellent" news.

The latest recommendation follows a major public consultation on parking last December, which showed that residents wanted to see more on street parking spaces available.

It also marks another success for the Evening Press Stop The Highway Robbery Campaign, which called for evening parking charges and unnecessary yellow lines in the city centre to be scrapped.

Peter Evely, the council's head of traffic management, said: "The propsoal to create 80 new on street parking spaces has come directly from last year's public consultation.

"If agreed, it will enable people to park even closer to the city centre, which is particularly useful for people who work in the evening and want to be able to park as close to their place of work as possible for safety reasons."

Under the proposals, the spaces will be available for use between 6pm to 8am daily, free of charge to pass holders or £1 for residents with a Minster Badge or £2 for those without.

A number of parking bays will also be available free of charge on Sundays to allow churchgoers to use them. Holders of York's frequent user parking passes, which entitle people to park on evenings and overnight at a discounted rate, will be the first to benefit from the new arrangements as they will have sole use of the spaces until new pay and display machines can be brought to the sites.

The spaces will then be open to anyone, including holders of the pass.

Frozen car parking charges remain at between £1.20 and £1.40 an hour for non-residents.

The traffic order for the new spaces will be advertised from April 14. Anyone with any objections should write to Rod Jones, 9 St Leonard's Place, York by 6 May.

Updated: 10:29 Monday, April 11, 2005