A COUNCIL is being urged to abandon plans to introduce pay and display parking in two city centre streets.

Durham County Council, which has introduced on-street parking charges in the centre of Durham to reduce congestion and parking problems, wants to replace residents' permit parking in Renny Street and Ellis Leazes with pay and display machines that anyone can use.

The council says it will bring the streets, which have a high student population, into line with neighbouring streets and end confusion among motorists about where they can legally park.

But the Durham City councillor for St Nicholas Ward, David Freeman, said the council was ignoring people's opposition.

"The county council appears to treat every street in Durham as a potential car park and money-maker at the expense of the people who have to live there," said Councillor Freeman.

"The council believes that spare capacity exists in Renny Street and Ellis Leazes but has started counting car numbers at a time when 75 per cent of the residents, who are students, are away for the Christmas break.

"Both streets fill up with residents cars when everyone is here.

"These are small streets and some households have more than one car.

"In addition, residents in Lower Gilesgate, which already has pay and display parking, sometimes have to park their cars in the street as their own street is full of commuters or shoppers."

Coun Freeman said that the council should instead concentrate on its planned park and ride schemes to ease traffic problems.

A county council spokesman said that no decision had been made on the proposals and that consultation had been carried out with residents.

"Any views, comments or observations we received will be taken into consideration when the matter comes before councillors, probably in March," he said.

"The reason we want to install pay and display machines in those two streets is that there are pay and display machines in adjacent streets and people are paying for tickets in those streets and thinking they can use them in the streets where it is residents' permit parking.

"There is a high number of motorists being fined because they think their ticket covers them for parking in the two streets.

"We are extending the pay and display system to bring the streets into line with the other streets and avoid the high level of fines being imposed."