THE charges which will be introduced for parking in the town centre from today are among the lowest in the country.

That's the message from the man who chairs the council sub-committee which took the decision to slap on fees -­ which start at 30p for up to two hours -­ for the first time.

Councillor Stewart Hayward said: 'We looked at charges in similar towns with a similar number of parking spaces and we found, for example, that Chester was charging £1.50 for the first hour, £2 for two hours and £2.50 for three hours.

'While we appreciate no-one likes paying extra for anything, motorists might like to bear in mind that 30p will buy much less than half a litre of petrol.

'Shoppers should find parking will be more convenient and the presence of patrol officers will ensure this and, very importantly, the security of our car parks.

'The charging will stop the present chaos in the main car parks around Asda where it is common to find vehicles parked haphazardly, including on double yellow lines - which weren't previously enforceable but will be from tomorrow on.'

The Pioneer exclusively revealed details of the scheme to charge for parking last February.

This caused a storm of protest, with shoppers, town centre traders and the chamber of commerce all strongly protesting.

But this week, Cllr Hayward said: 'Despite all this hype in the early stages of our planning, I am confident the benefits will outweigh the small charges involved.

'After all, councillors are as interested as everyone else to ensure we have -­ and enhance ­ the viability of the town centre and see a truly vibrant one in the future.'

Cllr Hayward revealed that, during consultation meetings with town centre businesses, traders' representatives agreed that charging for parking was the best option to achieve its £300,000-a-year revenue target.

They backed the borough view that if one hour's free parking was offered it would mean shoppers staying only an hour, which would dramatically affect businesses which rely on 'browse time'.

Cllr Hayward told how businesses also emphasised how vital it was the new system should resolve the problem of market traders' vehicles blocking access for shoppers.

As a result of several consultation meetings, the scale of charges eventually agreed was the one recommended by business leaders.

Town Centre 1 (nearest Asda and the market) will be limited to four hours parking to ensure this is used by shoppers.

The council says provision for disabled drivers is improved and they will park free up to four hours.

To ensure their spaces are not abused, patrol officers will be able to check from the photograph on their badge that the authorised holder is using the vehicle.

Officers will also make sure vehicles display an appropriate ticket and are correctly parked in designated space.

They are empowered to issue excess charge notices requiring a payment of £35 within 14 days.

On Saturdays there will be extra spaces around the council offices, near the Civic Hall, and normal charges will apply between 8am-6pm.

These spaces are reserved from Monday to Friday for council employees and members.

* Next week we hope to look at how the first week of charging has gone. You can e-mail us with your views at: pioneer@chronicle.u-net.com