A TOWN has issued a heartfelt plea to be given longer to respond to an attempt to impose on-street parking charges.

North Yorkshire County Council wants to introduce the scheme to Northallerton next year before rolling it out across the rest of the county.

It would see free parking in the High Street, Zetland Street, Hatfield Road, Quaker Lane and South Parade cut from the current from two hours to 30 minutes.

Then motorists leaving vehicles parked on one of the High Street's 250 spaces would be able to do so for a maximum of two hours, for 80p an hour.

The plan has already attracted considerable controversy locally and a consultation exercise launched by the county council in November is die to come to a close on January 3.

But the local town council has now called on the county to extend the deadline to the end of February.

At their meeting this week members pointed out that the results of a major economic study for Hambleton’s five market towns were not expected until the end of the festive season.

And some councillors fear that would be too late for them to include anything relevant that emerges in their response to the parking consultation if the deadline remains as January 3.

The call came as Communities Secretary Eric Pickles set out a billion-pound package of support for the UK’s high streets which includes a new consultation to tackle aggressive parking policies.

The Government will also cap increases in parking penalty charges for the rest of this Parliament in an effort to make it cheaper and easier to park and encourage people to shop locally.

For the Northallerton consultation comments can be made online at northyorks.gov. uk/northallertonparking, or in writing to North Yorkshire County Council, Highways and Transportation, Area 2 Thirsk Office, Thirsk Industrial Park, York Road, Thirsk, YO7 3BX.