UNPOPULAR plans to introduce car parking charges at Upton Country Park have been given the go-ahead by Poole council chiefs.

At a meeting of the Borough of Poole’s cabinet this evening members voted in favour of implementing the charges from spring 2017.

This will see visitors charged between 50p and £3 during the winter season and 80p to £4 in the summer season.

Visitors will also be able to buy an annual permit for £40.

Blue Badge holders will also be subject to the parking charges.

During the meeting Cllr Sandra Moore, speaking in support of The Friends of Upton Country Park, urged the committee to reject the proposals.

She said: “By introducing these charges it will displace car parking to other roads nearby causing car parking problems in the area.

“The consultation responses showed that 50 per cent of park users would visit the park less often if these charges were implemented.

“Please allow residents to freely enjoy this beautiful park.”

However Cllr John Rampton, cabinet member for environmental and consumer protection services, said implementing car parking charges would be a positive thing for the park.

“Car parking charges will be one of the tools they need to become a self-sustaining park.

“We need to do this for the future of Upton Country Park.”

Around 80 members of the public attended the meeting to hear what they hoped would be the decision on car parking proposals across Poole.

Council chiefs were also due to make a decision on plans to introduce parking charges at some of the borough’s parks and on residential roads near the town’s beaches.

However in both these cases the cabinet agreed to adjourn its decision to give officers more time to look over the consultation responses in order to get a better understanding of what the public wants.

This decision was met with groans and shouts from the public gallery who called for the cabinet “to just make a decision”.

The public consultation – which received thousands of responses - revealed strong opposition to the proposals.

Five petitions calling for the local authority to abandon all parking charge proposals had more than 10,000 signatures.