Cornwall Council's controversial increase of charges at over 100 car parks across the Duchy has proved a talking point and bone of contention since the changes were made in May. Now a local MP has said she is "shocked" at the effect the policy by her own party has had on one business owner in particular with many businesses telling her it is affecting trade.

Cornwall Council's 135 pay-and-display and pay-on-foot car parks were grouped into one of three 'zones' with Zone A being the most expensive, following changes agreed by the council's Conservative Cabinet. The changes proved so unpopular that the council reduced some prices following a public consultation but the new tariffs have still come under attack by those who fear they are targeting the worst off and "decimating" businesses.

In many of the Duchy's busiest car parks, it now costs £2.20 to park for an hour and up to £10 for over four hours. Free parking after 4 pm has now been changed to a £2 fee after 6pm which many businesses are worried will affect the night-time economy of towns which are already struggling with a lack of footfall. Many places have seen free parking on Sundays scrapped too.

Cherilyn Mackrory, Conservative MP for Truro and Falmouth, visited Falmouth on the opening day of Tall Ships on Tuesday, August 15, and spoke to local businesses about a number of matters.

She said on her Facebook page: "The one thing I kept being told was how much changes to parking have affected trade on the high street. I was shocked that one business owner has had to pay £900 for a permit just to park in town for work!"

Mrs Mackrory added that she wanted to see Falmouth succeed and asked for people to fill in a survey she has set up to "tell me what direction you want to see it take next". You can comment here: Your Ambition For Falmouth Survey | Cherilyn Mackrory

Her post was met with comments from members of the public criticising the tariffs. One woman wrote "Yes, the car parking charges all over Cornwall have increased by a ridiculous amount helping to destroy the high street, I really feel for the small businesses struggling as it is" while another resident added "Wasn't it Cornwall Council Tory member Connor Donnithorne who instigated the car parking charges hike and isn't he now standing as Tory candidate in Camborne/Redruth?"

Independent St Ives councillor Andrew Mitchell also responded, saying: "The only way to help businesses survive and reduce car parking charges is to get rid of the Tory Cabinet at Cornwall Council."

Following Mrs Mackrory's comments, Jayne Kirkham, leader of the Labour group on Cornwall Council and parliamentary candidate for Truro & Falmouth, said: "The new Conservative car parking charges make no sense. Local businesses tell me their workers are struggling to afford to park. Truro, instead of getting a much-needed boost to its evening economy and cultural offer, is now struggling with new all-year-round evening parking charges and a time limited park and ride option."

Perran Moon, Labour parliamentary candidate for Camborne, Redruth and Hayle, added: "Cornish Conservatives don't seem to know whether they're coming or going on the issue of car parking charges. Some are in favour, some against, some keeping their heads down and hoping the issue will just disappear. We're in the midst of a chronic cost-of-living crisis. Families and businesses up and down Cornwall are desperately struggling to pay for food, clothing, rent, mortgages … and yet Conservatives at Cornwall Council decided that right now would be the right time to hammer the Cornish people and Cornish businesses with a huge hike in car parking charges.

"They're only now realising that the inevitable result is more financial misery and anger from local people and businesses, with more cars parked on streets and lanes, instead of in designated areas."

Mrs Mackrory responded by blaming Labour councillors in Falmouth for plans which "threaten" the future of a car park in the town.  Cornwall Council owns Church Street car park and it has been mooted that it could devolve it to Falmouth Town Council but on the proviso it is no longer a car park.

The town council has suggested a number of other uses, but nothing has currently been decided.

She said: "It seems that local Conservatives are the only people on the ground listening to businesses and residents in Falmouth. The town council has clearly got into hot water pushing ahead with plans to reduce town centre parking without adequate support from local people. This issue cannot be sidestepped.

"As a Member of Parliament, I am so lucky to meet small business owners on a regular basis and I know that many are seriously concerned about poorly consulted plans by Labour councillors which threaten the Church Street Car Park and increase pressure on neighbouring roads which simply cannot take it.

"Frankly most people in Falmouth just want to have a voice on changes to their high street. I would hate for any reduction to parking and the inevitable impact on footfall to be a slippery slope hurting trade even more further down the line. I am really interested to hear what local people think, so if you live in Falmouth or work for a business in the area please get in touch."

We have contacted the man who brought in the tariff changes – Cornwall Council's portfolio holder for transport Connor Donnithorne, who is also the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Camborne, Redruth, and Hayle – for further comment.

Cllr Donnithorne was asked at a council meeting last month about the public's reaction to the parking charges. He said: "Changes to parking are always very contentious and we'll keep it monitored as we go forward. There were around 1,400 responses to the parking consultation – the main areas of concern that I picked up on were reflected in the changes that we made; cutting the JustPark multi-use session ticket discounts even further from £5 in a Zone A car park all day to £2.50 and cheaper charges for Zones B and C car parks."

He added that one of his aims was to make motorists in Cornwall more aware of the multi-use tickets, via the JustPark app, which provide parking sessions in selected long-stay car parks at a reduced rate. The tickets can save you money if you regularly commute or regularly use a specific car park but don't park every day of the week. Each parking session runs for 24 hours on whichever day it's required.

He was also asked if it was correct that the parking service used to run at a loss. "On average over the last six or seven years the parking budget has seen a shortfall of about £1.5m," replied Cllr Donnithorne. "That has been plugged from highways maintenance and other areas of maintenance spend, which is one of the reasons why we are seeing problems on our road network. With these parking charge changes, although receiving criticism in the public domain, it's critical that we get on top of that budget shortfall so we don't continue to pass on (the) £1.5m shortfall every year which gets plugged by essential road maintenance which keeps us all safe."

He said after the meeting: "I'm listening every day to local residents and businesses on how we can make the parking system easier and more efficient in Cornwall. I want to make it easier for local people to benefit from the massively reduced parking charges accessible via multi-use session tickets. We are designing a system where residents will be able to use their multi-session tickets for any car park within a zone rather than selected car parks only.

"This means it will be easier for residents to access the significant discounts and pay: Zone A 24 hours £2.50, not £10, Zone B 24 hours £2, not £6 and Zone C 24 hours £1.75, not £3.50."