A hike in parking charges will deter customers and hit trade, small businesses have warned.

Last month Glasgow City Council announced it planned to increase charges and extend the hours of parking zones across the city.

The Glasgow Times revealed the price rise, from April, will be up to 25% for outside the city centre with the cost of 15 minutes parking rising from 80p to £1.

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Now, traders in the Byres Road area have said they are angry at the changes they say have been forced upon them and could “spell disaster” for some.

John Turner, chair of the Byres Road Business Improvement District (BID), said customers are already complaining about the cost of parking.

He said: “Parking charges in the Byres Road area are already too high these planned increases are only going to make matters worse.

“Before Christmas my wife and I had already received comments from a number of customers in our shop complaining about the level of charges, and saying that they would be cutting down the number of their visits to the West End. They would instead ‘go to Braehead where the parking is free’.

“The BID is particularly worried about the extension of the chargeable hours and the effect that this will have on the bars and restaurants in the area. Will people still come for an evening out in the West End if they may have to pay £12-16 extra in parking charges?”

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Currently, Hillhead and nearby Woodlands have chargeable parking meters every day from 8am to 10pm but Dowanhill, the streets to the west of Byres Road, is Monday to Saturday 8am to 6pm.

Mr Turner however, said the Hillhead zone only changed on January 22 but hasn’t been updated and will become 8am to 10pm on April 1.

He added: “The Council says one of the reasons to increase the charges is to promote a ‘modal shift’ away from cars to public transport. But where is the additional public transport provision to the West End in the evenings and at weekends? This needs to be put in place before any further increases in parking charges.

“The reaction from our BID business members has been one of shock and anger, and includes comments such as, ‘the Council doesn’t care about local businesses’ and ‘they just don’t listen to us’.

“We appreciate that times are tough and that the Council is facing cuts and difficulties on all sides. The Council must, however, stop using parking charges as a cash cow to fill a hole in their budget. It is a practice which is having a disastrous impact on local businesses.”

The council says there are 4326 spaces in surface and multi-storey car parks where overnight stays are available from 6pm-8am charging £4 and £5 overnight, from April, respectively.

A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council said: “Changes to pay and display hours in parking zones were agreed as part of a budget that required to find £107m worth savings from council services over the next three years.

“The budget has sought to target poverty and invest in support for communities with Council Tax frozen for the next year.

“The longstanding approach with parking controls has been to prioritise parking for residents in the city’s 22 parking zones.
“By standardising parking hours across all zones we are aiming to provide the maximum benefit for permit holders seven days a week.

“We also hope to encourage a shift to more sustainable forms of transport.”