DRIVERS were hit with more than 1,400 parking tickets in just one street in Bolton town centre last year, new figures show.

Now traders and councillors say Bolton’s “over-zealous” parking wardens are putting off visitors to the town and harming businesses.

Of the 16,963 tickets issued across the borough in the last tax year, 1,448 tickets were issued in Knowsley Street, which is home to businesses such as McDonalds, Halifax, The Co-op and Rhode Island coffee shop.

Another 1,159 tickets were issued in Silverwell Street, near Bolton Parish Church.

The total number of tickets issued in Bolton has fallen over the past two years, however — 20,495 tickets were issued from April, 2012, to April, 2013, and 22,180 tickets from April, 2011, to April, 2012, according to data obtained by The Bolton News under freedom of information laws.

Cllr John Walsh, a church warden at Bolton Parish Church, says the council’s parking policies are responsible for a decline in trade in the town centre.

He said: “The figures prove that overly zealous parking enforcement is still a big problem in Bolton and that fewer people are coming to the town centre for fear of getting a ticket.

“It seems to me that the council’s policy on parking is totally wrong and needs revisiting.

“Until it relaxes its enforcement of tickets, people will be driven away from the town centre.”

He added: “Introducing short-stay parking zones, where people can leave their vehicles for half an hour to two hours, would encourage a higher turnover of shoppers in Bolton.”

Cllr Nick Peel, the council's executive member for environmental services, suggested there is not enough space in the town centre to introduce short-stay parking and pointed out that the number of parking tickets issued across the borough has fallen by nearly 6,000 since April, 2012.

Cllr Peel also said that many tickets issued in Knowsley Street were issued as a result of complaints from taxi drivers about their taxi rank outside Poundstretcher.

He said: “From the council’s point of view, there’s a limited amount of space in the town centre, so it’s got to be allocated very carefully.

“The council recognises that people need more places to park up when they go shopping, which is why we have various free parking spaces in the town centre, such as the multi-storey car parks at The Octagon Theatre, Topp Way and Deane Road.

“Tickets that are issued in Knowsley Street are a direct response to Hackney cab drivers who have complained to us that there’s not enough space for them.

“The fact that the number of tickets issued in Bolton has fallen shows that our parking policy is acting as an effective deterrent against illegal parking.”

Of the 1,448 parking tickets issued in Knowsley Street in the last tax year, 1,402 were issued by use of CCTV, which is just under a quarter of the 4,889 tickets which were issued across the whole of Bolton using CCTV.

The government recently announced that it wanted to ban Bolton Council and other local authorities from using CCTV “spy cars” to catch motorists parking illegally.

Andy Cottrell, manager of Rhode Island in Knowsley Street, said: “I’ve come into work to sort something out on a Sunday night and I’ve left my car outside for less than half an hour.

“It’s been the only car in the bay and I’ve got ticketed — it’s ridiculous.

“I think the parking ticketing system is pedantic — there has to be a bit more leeway.”

Glynis Knapman, a general adviser at The Co-operative Bank, also got a parking ticket when she briefly visited work on her day-off.

She said: “I stopped off at work so I could go in, pick something up and get back in the car, and got a ticket for it.

“On another occasion, someone was escorting a disabled customer into the bank who was in a wheelchair and they got a ticket for leaving their car outside.

“I think the council’s approach to parking is harsh and a lot of people are being put off coming to Bolton because of this.”

Faizal Makkan, owner of A & M News, says he received two parking tickets last year while he was unloading goods into his shop.

Mr Makkan said: “I’ve tried to tell the council I’m parked outside because I’m loading and unloading, but they won’t listen.

“I have to park right round the corner because of all the problems I’ve had.

“We are working people and, if we can’t park on the street, it’s a concern for business.”