TRADERS have warned that the future prosperity of a Darlington shopping street is under threat if parking restrictions are not relaxed.

Shop owners in Grange Road say they have had fewer shoppers since the parking charges and a one-hour parking restriction were introduced in November last year. Some traders are considering closing one day a week.

Councillor John Williams, the leader of Darlington Borough Council, recently said that Grange Road was benefiting from shoppers staying for short periods of time instead of all day - a claim fiercely disputed by traders.

Shop owners have appealed for parking times to be extended - or warned that the future of independent trading in the town is at risk.

Andy Atkins, chairman of Grange Road Traders Association, and owner of the Cooks and Kitchens store, said the situation was getting worse rather than better. He said: "We know parking charges won't be abolished as they're too lucrative, but business here is suffering.

"The current limits need to be changed. One hour is not enough time to go into clothes shops and have a coffee - you see people constantly looking at their watches.

"The minimum needs to be two hours or more. For those people who are prepared to pay, it would give them a bit extra time to look around.

"Even at peak times now, the street is often far from full. Often there's about 30 per cent of parking spaces taken and hardly any people walking around.

"The footfall here has been affected quite substantially and huge chunks of revenue have been taken from Grange Road.

"My own business has only been open for three years, and while you would expect it to be thriving, it is not, and the parking system is a substantial reason why not.

"I really don't know where John Williams got his information from, because it wouldn't be reflected by the retailers."

John Buxton, the council's director of development and environment, said: "There is no evidence that suggests the one hour parking limit is discouraging people from parking in Grange Road, but we will be happy to look at two hour parking for the area.

"We will also review other on-street parking areas, which have restrictions of less than two hours, to see if they would benefit from change."