CAR parking charges were put under the spotlight as Christchurch council proposed keeping the £1 for two hours rate for another year.

Last year, Christchurch Cham-ber of Trade and Commerce called on the council to introduce the rate to help boost trade and footfall in the town centre.

It was given the green light with the initiative brought in at Saxon Square, Bank Close, Wick Lane and Bypass car parks.

Despite a reduction in income and ticket sales for those car parks of around £20,000 from April until September, the council say the tariff should stay for another year.

A report to Wednesday’s resources committee at Christchurch said the loss is likely to have been caused by the revised tariffs and the loss of 15 car parking spaces in Wick Lane to developer Renaissance Retirement.

The council is pre-dicting the full reduction in income for these car parks by the end of the financial year to be £35,000.

That will be mitigated by £17,630 paid by Renaissance for the 15 parking spaces used by the contractors developing the Cornfactor site.

Penalty charge notice income is also down by £37,539 due to recruitment, training and long-term illness.

However, overall, the income from all car parking and charges is likely to increase by £15,855, to £2.6million by the end of the year, the council has predicted.

Stephen Bowden, president of Christchurch Chamber of Trade and Commerce said he was pleased by the proposal.

“We know there is no guarantee and we have prepared the results of our survey which we have carried out with businesses and shows over-whelming support. The feedback shows it has increased footfall and sales and people are spending longer in shops.

“We need to be competitive with our nearest shopping areas in Bournemouth and Poole.”

n Proposals to remove the 50p tariff at Saxon Square car park will go out to consultation following the meeting.

Other measures proposed include increasing parking permit prices and increasing shorter-duration fees in amenity and shopper car parks by 10 pence for 2015/16.