PLANS for a "monstrous" increase in York's short-stay parking charges will lead to a fall in city centre visitor numbers, a Labour councillor claimed today.

Cash-strapped City of York Council is set to hike daytime fees at three central car parks - Bootham Row, Piccadilly and Castle - to up to £2 an hour.

But Coun Tracey Simpson-Laing, shadow transport spokeswoman, said the "ludicrous increase" will meet with resistance and lead to a loss of visitors, jeopardising the livelihood of city centre businesses and their employees.

She said the proposals had come as a shock to most residents, after council leader Steve Galloway pledged only last September to freeze standard daytime parking charges until March 2006 to protect the city centre economy.

She claimed the word "standard" - which applied to car parks previously categorised as medium and long-term - seemed to have been used then to confuse people rather than inform them.

"Throughout last year's parking charges saga, Coun Galloway insisted that it was actually the level of daytime - not evening - charges that could be putting local businesses at risk, and that it was those charges he was most concerned about.

"I know that daytime charges were also something members of the Retail Scrutiny Board were worried about - there has already been a significant loss of daytime parkers in the last two years.

"To address this issue, Coun Galloway pledged to freeze the fees this year. If it is valid to freeze so-called 'standard' parking charges for these reasons, then why hike up central short stay - which is just as likely to have an impact on the city centre economy?"

But Coun Ann Reid, the Liberal Democrat executive member for transport, said it had been made "quite clear" last September that the freeze applied only to standard car parks, where people could park all day.

She said people still had plenty of choice, with many of the standard car parks - such as Esplanade, St George's Field and Peel Street - only a short distance further away from the centre than the short-stay parks.

People could also use Park & Ride or regular buses, or pay more if they wanted to park really close to the centre.

She said the increases were being proposed because of the council's financial difficulties.

The size of the increase in charges would be determined by how much council tax was raised, she added. Charges would only rise to £2 an hour if the council tax rise was pegged to five per cent. There would be a lesser increase if the council tax rise was greater.

Updated: 10:56 Saturday, January 08, 2005