PLANS to charge people to park their cars in a town centre street have been slammed by residents.

Bury Council hopes to introduce a short-stay pay and display parking scheme along one side of Market Street, outside Bury College, where parking is currently free.

If the plans get the go-ahead, motorists would have to pay to park their cars and could only stay there for up to two hours.

But residents are concerned that people will leave their cars outside their homes rather than paying to park. Nearby streets, such as Wellington Road, are already lined with parked cars belonging to town centre workers, shoppers, and students.

Mrs Esther Mills, who lives in nearby Grosvenor Street, said: "A new parking scheme would make parking worse in my street, but it is already very busy. By 9am, there are already about 30 cars parked in the street, and as soon as one of them leaves, another car replaces it. Cars are parked on kerbs, blocking driveways and stopping people parking close to their homes.

"Something needs to be done to sort out the problem, but I don't think this is the answer. I really don't know what can be done."

Another Grosvenor Street resident, Mrs Dorothy Hughes, is also doubtful that the plans are a good idea.

She said: "Parking is already terrible in this area, and asking people to pay and display is no good if it's only for two hours. It means that students at Holy Cross and Bury College won't be able to park there, and they will park outside our houses instead. Some people don't want to pay to park their car, so they won't use Market Street either. The roads here are already full and we can't take any more cars."

Redvales councillor Mr Khalid Hussain supports residents' opposition to the plans.

He said: "We have discussed the issue of parking in the Market Street and Wellington Road area at many local meetings and it is a major concern. We already have a big problem with students and other people parking in front of houses in these streets. As a local councillor, I am concerned that Bury has had a long tradition of free car parking and increasingly we are moving towards more and more pay and display car parking.

"Whilst this inevitably increases revenue, we need to be careful that any measures that are taken do not affect the quality of life for local residents. I am definitely not in favour of these plans."

The council has already put a notice in Market Street to announce their intention, and has received 12 letters objecting to the plans, mainly from people living and working in the area.

Mr John Foudy, parking services manager at the council, said: "We want to introduce pay and display parking in Market Street for a number of reasons, and one of those is that it will raise revenue if people use it. There are bigger issues than revenue though, such as the need to control town centre parking and the loss of car parking spaces in Bury caused by a number of new developments.

"The closing date for objections was Monday and we are now reading the letters we have received. We will then make a decision about whether to go ahead with the pay and display scheme."

A spokesperson for Bury College said: "Bury College is aware of the proposed changes and was invited to make any objections as a local resident. Staff and students will be informed about the plans through the college bulletin."