ANGRY city-centre traders have held a meeting to campaign against new parking charges on Sundays.

The businesses in Bradford’s ‘top-of-town’ said the charges, introduced in May, were hitting trade in an area where footfall had already slumped after the closure of the Morrisons supermarket.

Local MP Naz Shah went along to the meeting at The Bazaar, in Simes Street, where between 40 and 50 traders had gathered.

Hassan Ali, who operates The Bazaar, said: “Traders are already suffering and now with the new parking charges, where people used to come for a quick shop or a bite to eat, they are being put off with the thought of paying for parking.

“If the footfall was there, then it wouldn’t be too much of an issue, but when there isn’t and you want to add to that parking charges, how is one supposed to survive?

“We had traders from the bazaar, the Oastler Centre, and also local businesses like Bradford Brewery join us at the meeting.

“I went very well, it proved we all have the same issues, and Naz Shah came along and said she would support us and agrees with the problems we are having.”

Cash-strapped Bradford Council brought in Sunday charges in some Council-run car parks in March and also introduced Sunday charges on some city-centre streets in May.

The authority’s Executive had decided to keep free on-street Sunday parking on five streets - North Parade, Northgate, Rawson Road, Godwin Street and Darley Street - after hearing from concerned traders.

Despite this concession, Mr Ali said the introduction of fees on Simes Street and in local car parks was hitting them badly, and the number of different rules in different areas was confusing customers.

A spokesman for Bradford Council said: “All pay and display on-street parking on North Parade, Rawson Road, Darley Street and Godwin Street is free on Sundays, which is exactly what the Executive agreed back in April.

“We also recently expanded the number of parking bays on Rawson Road right by the Bazaar so there should be plenty of spaces where customers can park for free on a Sunday.

“However, customers at the Bazaar who do buy a parking ticket in the Simes Street car park can get the cost refunded at all times from businesses in the Bazaar.”

Naz Shah, MP for Bradford East, said: “I will be writing to the Council’s chief executive this week about this.

“Traders are being inadvertently hit by the charges; Bradford Brewery said it has caused them to lose almost 50 per cent of its business.

“I am asking for the charges to be put back to what they used to be at the very least. Markets are the backbone of the local economy and the charges penalise and strangle them. The Council needs to take a different viewpoint on this.”