A TENBURY tourism chief has hit out at Malvern Hills district councillors for rejecting a plan to lower car parking fees to match those in Ludlow.

Chris Dell, chairman of Tenbury's Tourism Group, was reacting to Malvern Hills District Council decision, reported in last week's Advertister, not to implement a proposal by Councillor George Price.

Mr Dell said the scheme was needed as parking in Tenbury was "staggeringly expensive".

"I fully support Coun Price's efforts to reduce parking charges in Tenbury to the same level as in Ludlow," he added.

"Whether you look at tourism or shoppers, the cost of parking is a major factor in determining where people go, and how long they stay."

Mr Dell claimed there had been concern over car parking since Malvern Hills District Council introduced charges on what was a free car park.

"It is unfortunate that MHDC has ignored one of its own councillors," he added.

"The council should realise that people in Tenbury, rather than people in Malvern, are more likely to understand the impact of expensive charges."

Coun Price's proposal was to encourage people to stay longer in the town but the executive committee decided not to implement it.

He argued that parking in Tenbury cost 40p more for a three-hour period than in Ludlow.

"Only a small percentage of people stay in the Teme Street car park for three hours and if we could increase the number, we could provide a boost to trade and increase the number of visitors."

However, as reported last week, district officers feared the financial impact of a one-year trial could be to reduce income by up to £6,465.

Ivor Pumfrey, head of environmental services, also said there was no evidence to support the view that benchmarking charges to Ludlow would stimulate an increase in visitors to Tenbury.

He was also concerned that creating inequalities across the district could lead to criticism from users of other car parks.