THE introduction of on-street parking charges in Darlington could be hitting traders, a new report has warned.

Although the charges appear to be having the desired effect and are discouraging people to stay longer than their allocated time, the number of people passing the shops and retail sales have dropped.

The charges were introduced in November last year by Darlington Borough Council.

One of the aims was to generate a higher turnover in on-street parking spaces so bringing in more shoppers, for the benefit of the economy of the town centre.

A report to Darlington Transport Forum meeting includes the results of surveys carried out before and after the introduction of the charges.

A study looking at the use and length of stay was carried out in June last year and repeated in June this year. It covered four areas of the town centre, including Duke Street, Grange Road and Northumberland Street.

The study shows that before the charges came into force a significant number of motorists were overstaying, but this has since dramatically decreased in all four areas.

However, studies were also conducted measuring the "footfall" past the local businesses in the three streets.

The results for Duke Street showed a fall of 36 per cent in the number of pedestrians. Northumberland Street experienced a fall of 19 per cent, and Grange Road showed a drop of 11 per cent.

The introduction of on-street charges also coincided with a national downturn in retail sales and some Darlington traders have suggested their business suffered as a direct result of the car parking charges.

Richard Alty, the borough council's assistant director of development and environment, said the results were not a cause for concern.

He said: "Although the footfall figures have decreased, this is a difficult thing to measure. Our checks were carried out in October 2004 and June 2005, which means they can not be directly compared.

"There are many factors that affect the number of pedestrians. The survey only covered a few days and it could just be bad weather was turning people away. A further check will be carried out later this month, so like-for-like figures can be compared.

"As for the retail sales, these figures were taken nationally. Although car parking can affect sales, it is not a big factor, like national economic changes."

The report will be discussed at the transport forum's meeting on Monday.

Members are expected to recommend continuing to monitor the number of cars and pedestrians for future progress reports.