Local councillors have slammed council plans to end free parking in two Somerset towns — and warned that some local businesses "won't survive without it."

Council car parks in Midsomer Norton and Radstock are currently free to park in, something which traders and local councillors say has helped to keep the high streets alive. But charges for those car parks could soon be brought in as part of Bath and North East Somerset Council's plans to balance its budget.

Discussing the plans at a council scrutiny panel meeting on January 11, Midsomer Norton North councillor Shaun Hughes warned: "Midsomer Norton has been totally neglected for a decade or more and most of the businesses on the high street are struggling to survive.

And a small gesture like a free car park is hugely beneficial to helping those businesses survive and there are some businesses that seriously won't survive without it."

Under the plans — which are open for public consultation until Monday January 15 — the price of a parking ticket would depend on the emissions of your vehicle, the same way that council car parks in Bath now work.

Council cabinet member for transport Manda Rigby said: "If you look at councils up and down the country, very very very few places that are now offering free parking. We are completely aware that we need to pitch the numbers that will not detract from the high street.

"So we are not saying we will charge the same things as we would in Bath, but the principle would be the same, about the people who drive the most polluting cars into an area would be the people who pay more."

Emissions-based parking was introduced in Bath in September — despite concerns about the "cumulative impact" on lower-income households — with drivers of more polluting vehicles having to pay extra depending on their car's emissions.

Mr Hughes added: "In Midsomer Norton, we see that as penalising the poorest that can't afford an electric car, they can't afford the latest or the most fuel efficient vehicles. So maybe that's a scheme that works in Bath, it certainly isn't something that works out in a working-class area like Midsomer Norton."

He said: "In Midsomer Norton, cars are not a luxury, they are a necessity. And a lot of people have cars even though they struggle to afford to have them but they need them to get to work."

Introducing parking charges had previously been considered in 2022 but was dropped after a local campaign. Paulton councillor Grant Johnson — who has now reopened the petition from the campaign — said that some of the shops he had spoken to during the campaign had now ceased trading.

He warned: "That should be eye-opening to the council before they go gung-ho into saying they are making everyone's lives healthier by bringing in parking charges which is just farcical."

Michael Auton, who also represents Midsomer Norton North, said he had spent three mornings at the car park and asked 80 different car park users for their thoughts.

He said: "As a local residents its something that I know is very important to the town to have free parking, but also as a councillor I appreciate the pressures that we are under in terms of budget."

He said he did not want charges to be introduced, but said that if they were, parking should remain free for the first two hours and local businesses should be able to get a permit for staff to park. Ms Rigby said it was a "really sensible suggestion" that she would be happy to discuss.

The new parking charges are just one of a raft of money making and saving measures by the council as it faces a budget gap in the next financial year of £24.53m.

A rise in council tax of the maximum 4.99% allowed (two percentage points of which will be ring fenced for spending on adult social care) is also being proposed.

The plans are open for consultation until Monday January 15 at 5pm and you can have your say in the consultation here: https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/budget-consultation-2024-2025