ANGRY traders have forced district councillors to call another meeting with them over the controversial issue of introducing parking charges.

Hambleton District Council plans to introduce the charges in the summer of next year to counter a predicted £450,000 shortfall in its budget.

And as part of the consultation process it is holding a series of meetings with key stakeholders in all the towns affected - Northallerton, Bedale, Thirsk and Stokesley.

But although a meeting for local traders in Northallerton was held on Monday night, most businesses knew nothing about the event until a few hours beforehand.

District council leader Arthur Barker has now promised another meeting will be held for them all to attend.

In the end, about 50 traders attended Monday's meeting after local businessman Marcus Grover heard about it and spent the day visiting as many as possible.

But they made their feelings clear about the lack of invitations - and about the parking charge issue.

"As far as I am aware, only three shops in the High Street knew about the meeting and had been invited to it," said Mr Grover.

"But this is a vitally important issue to us all - free car-parking is the unique selling point we have in Northallerton."

He said he and a fellow trader contacted as many other business people as they could on Monday, but some were still unable to make it because of the short notice.

However, Coun Barker insisted letters had been sent out from the district council ten days earlier, using second-class mail.

"If they weren't received, I apologise - but they were sent out," he said.

Traders at the meeting said "free and easy" car parking was one of the key attractions that brought shoppers to the town and they poured scorn on a consultants' report which described local business as "buoyant".

"I have traded in Northallerton for 40 years and business has never been less buoyant," said Tim Grover, of Grover's Toys.

"It is nonsense to suggest that business here is buoyant. It is going through a really tough time."