Towns in the Stroud district are beginning to devise their responses to a council car parking review.

Stroud District Council (SDC) opened a consultation in June on introducing charges for its car parks in Dursley, Nailsworth, Wotton-under-Edge and Stroud, citing evidence doing so could increase shopper footfall for towns.

But Nailsworth Town Council is gearing up to battle the proposals, arguing traders, workers, residents and visitors are all set to lose out.

Ahead of a town hall meeting on Tuesday, July 10 to gather public views, mayor Jonathan Duckworth said: “Charges would be bad news for businesses, many of which feel they would have to close.

“Charges would be bad news for workers, who would end up paying more to get to work.

“Charges would be bad news for residents because long-term parkers - reluctant to fork out £425 for a permit - would end up clogging side-streets.

“Finally, and really importantly, visitors would be affected. Many come to Nailsworth for its fantastic shops, cafes, restaurants, services and free parking.

“A loss of footfall would be disastrous all round.”

SDC has taken the opposite view on footfall, having commissioned a report by consultants Arup that found that charges would free up spaces for shoppers and increase the ‘churn’ of customers for local businesses.

“The suggested charges compare favourably with other districts, and relatively low charges should help make more spaces available for shoppers and visitors, in turn increasing footfall,” Doina Cornell, leader of SDC, said before the consultation opened.

“The health of our market towns is important to all of us.”

Meanwhile, Stroud Town Council (STC) has launched its own survey to gather views on the impact of parking charges.

In a statement announcing the survey, STC noted that while there are already car parks that charge in Stroud’s centre, the district council is also planning charges for Stratford Park.

More information on SDC’s consultation, which closes on July 29, can be found here: stroud.gov.uk/parking-streets-and-travel/parking/stroud-district-car-parking-review