PARKING charges could be introduced at currently free Stroud District Council-run car parks to make up for falling government funding.

Most of the 38 car parks run by the council – including ones in Cam, Dursley, Berkeley, Arlingham and Wotton-under-Edge – are free to use but the authority’s ruling coalition is considering bringing in charges at many of them.

Speaking at the meeting of Dursley Town Council on Tuesday, the Labour group’s deputy leader, Cllr Doina Cornell, said the change was being considered as part of early discussions for next year’s budget.

“Because of more reductions in our funding from central government – which will eventually reduce to nothing – we are having to consider a number of options,” she said.

“These choices are really tough for us to make but we have no other option. The way we are looking at it is that, by doing this, we may be able to save another valuable service further down the line.”

If charges were introduced it could leave Dursley without any free car parks, although the town council has submitted an application to build one on the site of the former Gazette offices in Long Street.

Cllr Cornell added that SDC hopes to meet with representatives of parish and town councils in the district once plans are more advanced, to discuss the charges idea.

The plans have been criticised by the president of Wotton-under-Edge Chamber of Trade Martin Tucker who said that precepts should be raised instead.

“Getting rid of free parking would be taking away the only advantage we have over the big out-of-town shopping centres,” he said.

“We already see that people are going elsewhere to shop and this will only make that worse.”

Eight car parks in Stroud and one each in Stonehouse and Painswick run by the council require payment at the moment and under the plan, charges at those sites would be increased.

Charges would be focussed mainly on the council’s town centre car parks while its smaller village facilities, including Arlingham, are likely to be unaffected.

A meeting between council officers and representatives of the ruling coalition is due to take place today (Thursday) to consider the plans in more detail, including at what time of day charges will be enforced.

If the scheme was pursued it is expected that the charges would not be in place until about a year’s time.