CAR parking charges in the New Forest will be slashed as a first step towards scrapping the fees.

Motorists will be charged just £1 to park all day - and drivers leaving their cars for shorter peri-ods will have to pay only 50p.

The new price structure will apply across the district.

Charges currently vary throughout the Forest, with drivers using the most expensive car parks having to pay £3.50 for an all-day ticket.

The reductions were approved at yesterday's meeting of the district planning committee, which heard that the charges will be abolished altogether by September 30.

Lyndhurst trader Tom Miles said: "It's brilliant news.

"A lot of shops in the village say their takings are dramatically down on last year, due in part to parking charges."

The long-running issue sparked a bitter row at yesterday's committee meeting.

Mel Kendal, deputy leader of the ruling Tory group, said the charges were introduced by the previous Liberal Democrat administration "for reasons of greed".

He added: "We will not risk the viability of our local shops for an extra 30 pieces of silver." But the Tories came under fire from Hythe and Dibden councillor Maureen Robinson, the new leader of the Liberal Democrat group.

"There's no evidence that the downturn in trade is due to parking charges.

"I recently took the trouble to drive around our towns and villages. It took 20 minutes to find a parking space at Lymington - and Lyndhurst was also heaving. What were all those people doing if they weren't shopping"

The lower charges are likely to come into force on August 2 if the committee's decision is ratified by the full council.

Visitors will be the main beneficiaries of the cuts because people who live in the Forest are entitled to free parking permits.

Permits about to expire will automatically become valid until the end of October, when the charges will have been scrapped.

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