TRADERS and residents in Crook are fighting council parking charges which they say will put shops out of business and clog up streets near the town centre.

Objectors claimed the pay and display plan would "cripple" the town when they faced Wear Valley District Council officers at a two-hour meeting in the Masonic Hall on Wednesday night.

Proposals would mean drivers paying 60p for two hours and £1.60 for three hours in short-stay parks in the Market Place and off Hope Street, which are currently both free.

Parking would be free in designated long-stay areas in West Road and Glenholme.

Wear Valley councillors proposed the changes at a budget setting meeting in February, which heard they would raise £50,000 a year.

The district will consult with Durham County Council, traders and residents, and could start charging in October.

Norah Crooks, who ran a shop in Hope Street for more than 30 years, is organising a petition against the fees.

She said: "This will cripple Crook. It will drive a lot of small traders out because shoppers will go elsewhere."

Tom Carver, the district's head of public protection, said that charges had freed up spaces for shoppers in Bishop Auckland.

He said money raised in Crook would pay for car park improvements, signs, and traffic officers to enforce the restrictions.

But residents who live near the town centre said the changes would drive motorists into the back streets, where there was already a major congestion problem.

Norma Alderson, of Gladstone Street, said people would be prepared to pay for a residents' permit scheme.

She said: "There are cars outside my house until 7.30pm. They are mostly council workers. My husband can't park outside his own door.

Other concerned residents said the council should provide parking for its own workers, and questioned whether the Market Place and Glenholme land belonged to the authority.

One said: "It doesn't matter what we say, they are going to do it."

Crook Community Partnership, which organised the meeting with the town's traders' forum, is collecting views. Call at its offices in Hope Street, or attend the next meeting on July 6 at 7.30pm.