As the row over York's evening parking charges rumbles on, Mike Laycock visits another historic northern city to examine what happens when motorists park up there for a night out.

CATHY Wilson casually pops a £1 coin in the slot and waits for her ticket to emerge from the whirring machine.

She has come all the way from Nantwich to Chester to play bingo, and the flat-rate charge for an entire evening's parking in the city centre's Gorse Stacks car park does not bother her.

"I think £1's fair enough," she says.

But ask what her reaction would be if Chester followed York's example and introduced a charge of, say, £1.30 an hour, from 6pm until 9pm, and she winces. "I'd go to another bingo - the one in Crewe or something," she says.

As City of York Council conducts a crucial review of its hugely controversial evening charges, with one possibility being the introduction of a lower flat-rate fee, I have come to Chester to see if any lessons can be learned from the way this other great northern cathedral city treats its motorists after 6pm.

At the large Gorse Stacks car park, equivalent in its city centre convenience to York's Castle Car Park, motorists pay only £1 to park from 5pm until breakfast time the following day. At 6.50 pm, more than 150 cars are parked there. At the Castle Car Park, where parking used to be free after 6pm, a non-resident would now pay £6.50 to park from 5pm until the following morning. At 6.55pm, there are 94 cars parked at Gorse Stacks.

To get an idea of the way charges are viewed by motorists in Chester, I interview Cathy and nine other drivers at random as they buy their tickets to park up before heading off for an evening out.

Some, like many people in York, are adamant there should be no evening charge at all. "We pay enough during the day," insists Ronald Byrnes, from Ellesmere Port.

But a majority seem prepared to pay £1 for the evening. They do not particularly like it, but it does not put them off coming. David Bennett, Chester council's parking services manager, says few people would regard £1 as a deterrent nowadays. "Most people would pay it quite happily."

But it becomes clear that resistance would kick in if the price were to go much higher, with people saying they would rather take their custom to a different town or city.

"I'd go somewhere else," says Pamela McConnell, of Connah's Quay.

Not that Chester City Council has any intention of hiking its evening charges - not with the authority in the process of drawing up a "Chester at Night" strategy, says Mr Bennett. The strategy aims to encourage people to stay on in the city centre in the early evening, with shops urged to stay open later and restaurants to open up earlier. It sounds remarkably similar to the drive to encourage York's evening economy, launched by City of York Council last year to a great fanfare, but said to be struggling now in the wake of evening charges.

Coun Ann Reid, York's executive member for planning and transport, says she has been looking at what other cities, including Chester, charge, and many impose a flat-rate fee.

"It has the benefit of people knowing exactly how much they need to have in their pocket - a £1 coin, or £2." She says such an option is under consideration for York, although she would be keen for residents to continue receiving a discount.

Updated: 14:44 Thursday, August 26, 2004