Free on-street parking will soon be a thing of the past in Winchester.
Council bosses aim to bring in a 30p fee for every half-hour spent at any of the 130 available spaces. But traders say it will slam the brakes on motorists popping in for "quick-stop" shopping.
The scheme got the go-ahead on Tuesday from county environment boss, Keith Estlin, who hopes other councils will follow suit.
But chamber of commerce member, Paul Morgan, of Warren and Sons stationers, said traders still feared the charges would drive motorists away from city centre businesses.
"There are countless examples of people who would like to park centrally for a short time. "I've said before and will say again that these initiatives are punitive to the motorist."
But Mr Estlin hopes he can change driving habits and tackle traffic congestion. "Winchester is the first area to apply for on-street parking charges and I think there is a tremendous benefit to them.
"It's all part and parcel of restricting private cars and, hopefully, to drive people to use other transport. Overall, the public will benefit, but we will just have to wait to see how it works."
The charges could come in by August.
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