A PETITION has been started in a last-ditch attempt to stop parking restrictions hitting trade and tourism in Pershore.

Last year Wychavon District Council reduced the maximum stay in short-stay car parks, such as the one next to Pershore's leisure centre, from four to three hours.

Pershore town councillors are now pushing for the former maximum stay to be reinstated, claiming that the new limit is hitting business, tourism and volunteering in the town.

Councillor Jane Daniels said: "Three hours is not what Pershore is about - people should be able to relax here rather than whiz in and out."

She added that it was also making it difficult for people who volunteer in charity shops, usually on four-hour shifts. "The limit is restricting a lot of things that go on in the town," she added.

Coun Val Wood agreed and said: "It is damaging trade, it is damaging tourism and is damaging the town."

Coun John Grantham said the decision to alter the maximum stay was a mistake

"It is a nonsense that the leisure centre is the only Wychavon leisure facility with a paying car park. They really shot themselves in the foot when they cut maximum stay."

Alan Morgan, head of corporate services at Wychavon, said the petition was unlikely to succeed because the three-hour limit was a compromise from an original plan to cut the maximum stay to two hours.

"The short stay car parks are for people who need to pop into town for a brief time.

We wanted to stop spaces being used for long periods and help ensure spaces become available more frequently."

Copies of the petition are available at shops and businesses in Pershore town centre.