YORK'S controversial new parking charges and restrictions must go - and today the Evening Press launches a campaign to achieve just that.

Months after the evening and on-street charges were imposed and yellow lines painted, protests have grown ever louder.

So far, the authority has not been moved by the public anger. It has just revealed that a much-vaunted review of the measures will not take place until NOVEMBER, and that any change of heart may not take effect until April, 2005.

The Evening Press is now compiling a compelling dossier of the damage businesses say is being inflicted on York's economy by:

New evening charges of £1.30 an hour and high daytime charges

On-street parking fees

New yellow lines covering the city centre.

One Stonegate shopkeeper says his June trade was down by 25 per cent on last year, the proprietor of a Castlegate pub says her weekly business is down by £1,000 and the landlord of a pub in St Sampson's Square says his early evening business is almost 50 per cent down.

Today comes news that the charges and restrictions have also dealt a severe blow to the Samaritans.

The charity, which listens around the clock to people in distress and at risk of suicide, says it is having to divert thousands of pounds out of a tight budget to pay volunteers' evening parking charges.

Director Rachael Brayshaw says the charity will must cut back on advertising to recruit volunteers and to raise public awareness of its service.

She also feared for the safety of existing volunteers who, because of double yellow lines painted just across the road from its Nunnery Lane offices, can no longer park nearby, but must walk in the dark to and from the nearest car park.

"It is so demoralising and demotivating for our volunteers," she said, adding that she could not understand the justification for the yellow lines.

She had written to the council, but claimed she received "extremely unsympathetic" replies.

One reply from head of network management Peter Evely, said he understood the effect on the branch's financial resources, but the council itself had financial difficulties.

To ask it to forego much-needed extra income to support volunteers placed it in a very difficult position.

Ann Reid, executive member for planning and transport, said a solution might be found through the use of frequent user passes, which could be shared among the volunteers.

She said she personally did not have any problems walking through the city centre at night. "I do not feel threatened," she said. She added it was possible that some changes to charges could still be made before the next financial year.

Updated: 10:22 Thursday, July 01, 2004