A COUNCILLOR has accused a local authority of "bully boy tactics" over its planned introduction of charges for resident parking permits.

Cumbria County Council has pinned up notices in streets in towns around the county to inform the public that it intends to introduce a yearly £20 charge for the permits that are currently free.

The authority has begun a period of consultation but says if there is an overwhelming number of objections it will lift restrictions altogether, creating a "free-for-all" which would make parking on the doorstep even harder.

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Windermere's Cllr Ben Berry said the Labour and Lib Dem authority was "running a racket" by threatening residents with what has been branded a "pay up or shut up" scheme.

"Cumbria County Council are using bully boy tactics because they are scared of another outcry, like we had with their imposition of parking meters," he said.

CCC Conservative Leader James Airey said: "It is very disappointing to see this authority aggressively and without mercy focus on squeezing all revenue it can out of car parking. A small fee to cover the service is something many of us can live with."

Ray Speed, 58, of Queen Katherine Street, Kendal, said that if motorists were going to have to stump up £20 a year to park outside their homes it should guarantee a parking place. He added that at the moment the street is often blocked by permit holders parking their vehicles and that it was a "nightmare" when deliveries and tradespeople were expected.

Neighbour Vicki Hesketh, 21, said: "I've come back before and there's been nowhere to park so I've gone off and done other things.

"I wouldn't mind paying if it was enforced and there were more limits and there was space to park."

But the authority said the fee will cover the cost of running the scheme, which has until now been free.

A CCC spokesman said: "Nobody is bullying anybody, people can exercise their choice not to buy one.

"Twenty pounds is not an unreasonable amount to ask and most authorities charge far more than that.

"We're asking people not to ask for restrictions to be lifted then two months later find they can't park on their street and want them in place again."

The charges will effect streets in 23 towns throughout Cumbria including Kendal, Ambleside, Ulverston, Windermere and Bowness, Kirkby Lonsdale, Elterwater, Hawkshead, Milnthorpe, Grasmere and Appleby.

The consultation closes in South Lakeland on November 5.