SHOPKEEPERS in Midsomer Norton still fear that new parking charges will “kill the town”, despite the council’s assurances it has made changes after listening to concerns.

Bath and North East Somerset Council plans to start charging for the South Street car park, along with the Church Road and Waterloo Road car parks in neighbouring Radstock, in January.

Following a public outcry, the council has stated that it has listened and scaled back the plans somewhat.

But shopkeepers in the town remain concerned. Elaine Cousins, of model shop Signals on Midsomer Norton High Street, said: “When they first brought it in, my first thought was that will kill the town and it still might.”

Bath and North East Somerset Council says it has made the planned charges cheaper following the local reaction to the plans. Drivers will also be allowed to park for free for the first two hours.

Ms Cousins said she did not think the planned price would put off customers but the plan could backfire. She said: “People don’t tend to stay much longer than that in Midsomer Norton. In that case they aren’t going to make any money.”

Karen Starr, of Out of Asia, said: “Two hours wouldn’t do any good for my shopping. It would take longer than two hours to do all the shops each side of the street.

Neither Signal nor Out of Asia have their own parking spaces, so staff are reliant on parking at South Road car park.

Ms Starr said: “For me its going to be very expensive because I’m going to have to park for seven hours a day.”

Ms Cousins added: “As a shopkeeper, I’m going to have to park far away and walk in. I’m 60-odd years old. There may come a time when I can’t do that.”

The “emissions-based” parking charges will be calculated from a base rate of 30p per hour, with an additional charge based on how polluting your car is. The system has been used in council car parks in Bath since September 2023.

Pay machines will access car emissions data from the DVLA to calculate a charge.

Announcing earlier this week that the charges would be going ahead, the council’s cabinet member for highways Manda Rigby said: “We’ve had great feedback from our consultation, and I’d like to thank all those that took the time to share their views with us. We’ve listened and made changes to what was originally put forward and will now introduce two hours free parking in Midsomer Norton and Radstock car parks with a reduced tariff for longer stays.”

Independent councillor for Midsomer Norton North on Bath and North East Somerset Council, Shaun Hughes, said the council is still “not listening.” He stated, “The public have made it clear. With over 4,000 responses indicating they don’t want the parking changes, it will damage the town, and they have just ignored it.”

Ms Starr said it was another cost for the high street to deal with as the government increased employer’s national service contributions in the budget.