CRAFT fair organisers are threatening to boycott Worcester after being slapped with “outrageous” car parking charges for the first time.

City council chiefs have told traders who rent space at the Guildhall they now need to pay £7.50 each for all-day spaces in the building’s car park.

Zoe Coldicott, aged 68, who lives in Worcester and has been staging craft fairs at the venue on Saturdays for the last decade, said the charge threatens to end the events for good.

Her popular fairs attract about 25 stallholders, many of whom come from areas such as Oxford, Hereford and Tewkbesbury.

The traders are now launching a petition over the charges and say many are threatening to walk away unless it reverts back to being free.

She said: “I love crafts, it is my hobby and my life, but it feels like they are trying to kick us out of the city.

“I already pay £655 to rent the Guildhall and £135 liability insurance, and those costs are spread around to the stallholders, so they pay around £30 each for a table.

“I get 24 or 25 people trade, but how can I say to them there’s now £7.50 on top?

“It attracts a lot of people and we put so much effort into it, but we don’t make any profit as it is.

“Some people have already told me they won’t be coming again, we are that angry.”

The fairs are always popular with shoppers, with the traders typically selling items like fabric animals, silk flowers, stained glass and watercolours.

They take place on most Saturdays during the year and typically run from 10am to around 4pm, meaning the exhibitors need all-day parking.

The Guildhall’s car park is closed to the general public but staff and councillors can apply for annual passes to use it.

The council has now decided to levy a charge of £5 for four hours or £7.50 all-day for people using the site for events.

A spokesman for the city council said: “We have to emphasise that this doesn’t apply to members of the public, as this isn’t a public car park.

“Until now, if the Guildhall was booked people have been allowed to use the car park for free, but when they’ve filled out forms it’s always made clear the fees don’t include parking, which does give us the caveat to charge.

“We have now decided to introduce a charge purely for people who hold events.”

Councillor Richard Boorne, from the opposition Labour Party, said: “This whole thing goes against the council’s stated aims of being business friendly.”

But Councillor Simon Geraghty, city council leader, said: “This is an operational matter, and not one any politicians have been involved in, but ultimately, the Guildhall car park isn’t there to provide free parking for events.”