TRADERS in Winchester are worried about plans to charge for parking in Winchester on Sundays and in the evenings.

"The feedback I have had from business owners and shop owners are really quite worried about the effect of this change which don't seem to be in line with a policy of encouraging the local economy."

But Cllr Anne Weir, Cabinet member for the local economy, replied: "I have also been talking about the impact and clearly we need to understand how this will work out. Our priority is to encourage people to use public transport when coming in."

She added: "Winchester is unusual in charging at this time. Almost every local authority does charge at evenings and weekends. We have the problem of severe congestion at weekends which is not helping the local economy or the quality of our air in the city centre.

"It is something we need to consider in looking at how we fund services going forward but we haven't made any decisions yet."