TRADERS on a Chester street have spoken of their dismay at the council's plan to start charging people to park at the roadside.

Currently shoppers can park free of charge for up to an hour in the 27 bays on Brook Street – but from early next year they will have to shell out £1.

The street is packed with independent shops, cafes, hair salons and restaurants that have always benefitted from free on-street parking.

The Standard spoke to eight business owners or employees yesterday and some claimed the new charge could kill off their trade for good.

They fear an on-street parking charge will drive more customers to shop at supermarkets where parking is free.

Paul McAleer, who co-owns family-run cafe The Full English, said: “This will kill our business off altogether.”

Traders had recently won their fight to increase the free parking period on Brook Street from 30 minutes to an hour and a new £1 parking charge would undermine the benefits this brought, he said.

“Since it went up to an hour we've had many more customers as it meant they had time to come in for a meal,” Mr McAleer said.

“But now this is another £1 they've got to pay on top of their food. This won't be good for business at all.”

Customer Philip Walker, who had travelled to Brook Street from his home in Frodsham for eggs on toast, agreed.

“It's such a bad idea,” he said. “It will stop people parking here and force them onto the side streets where people live.”

Voytek Pachucy, who opened Polish dumpling cafe Pierogi seven months ago with wife Katarzyna, was shocked to hear of the council's plan.

“That's ridiculous!” he said. “It will definitely be bad for business. Free parking encourages people to come to the street. If they have to pay then people will decide not to do it and will prefer to go to the supermarket. It's not right.”

Stuart Stevenson, owner of Chester Comic Co, said the move would undoubtedly affect traders on the street, particularly the cafes.

“I don't see how this can be beneficial to the street,” he said. “I can't think of any positives at all apart from maybe it will put some money into the coffers of the council.”

Paul Hickman, co-worker at Grey and Pink Records, said: “We've been hounding them to increase the free parking from half-an-hour to an hour, which they finally agreed to, and then this happens. It's just ridiculous. It will end up killing businesses.”

Matthew Noble, a technician at the Chester Computer Centre, said their repairs generally have a one-hour turnaround time and a lot of customers park outside the shop while the work is done.

“Having to pay to park could discourage people from coming,” he added.

The owner of Afro-Caribbean Foods, which has been open for six months, was also shocked by the news.

And an employee at Bulgarian-inspired BG Bakery was similarly perplexed. “It doesn't make any sense,” he said.

A spokesman for vinyl records and vintage clothing store Woodstock said the new parking fee might encourage a better turnaround of traffic and customers. But he added: “The charging system in general in Chester is unsupportive of smaller, independent businesses here.”

Brook Street is one of three city centre streets that will see on-street charging introduced between January and March next year. The others are City Road and Foregate Street.

The council's parking strategy, published yesterday, states the move is being made “in order to better manage demand in these locations, and create harmony with the off-street charging regime to better facilitate the aims and objectives of the wider strategy”.