A TOWN is reducing its parking charges to encourage shoppers to stay longer and spend more money.

The council-owned Captain Cook multi-storey car park in Middlesbrough will offer three hours for £1.70 – the fee it currently charges for two, while the cost of a 12-month permit is falling by nearly £200 to £594 and the cost for a day’s parking is being slashed from £3.30 to £2.50.

The reductions come into effect on May 14.

Complaints made to Middlesbrough’s mayor, Ray Mallon, about the charges and the length of time drivers can park have prompted a review, which has been carried out despite the council facing budget cuts of more than £50m over four years.

“The town centre is the engine room of this town and the urban centre of the Tees area, so we must do everything possible to attract shoppers and visitors and assist businesses at this very difficult time,” he said.

“I have received many complaints over a long period concerning car parking charges, which to some extent have acted as a barrier to attracting people to the town centre.

“It is clear that two hours is not sufficient in this day and age, and that three hours is a more appropriate time span for short-term parking.”

Award-winning fashion designer, Kate Fearnley, who stocks her clothes in Psyche independent store and her own boutique, both in the town’s Linthorpe Road, said: “I think this is a great move.

Anything that can drive more shoppers to our town centre has to be a good thing.

“In these hard times for businesses, people need to be able to spend their money in the shops and not on parking.”

Businesses moving into the town or expanding firms creating jobs will also benefit from a higher 40 per cent discount on long-stay parking permits at the Zetland car park, which charges £1 for two hours.

Karen Shields, of Middlesbrough Town Centre Management, said: “We want Middlesbrough to be a destination shopping area. 640,000 people live within a half-hour drive away and there are seven million with a one-and-a-half hours drive.

“We are trying increase the amount of time people spend enjoying the shops, as well as the facilities such as mima art gallery, and we are rewarding them for that.”