PROPOSALS for a pay-and-display parking scheme in a residential area have come under fire from residents.

People living near Claypath, in Durham, say residents-only parking was introduced in Renny Street, Ellis Leazes, Kepier Terrace and Bakehouse Lane in 2001, after consultation by Durham County Council.

The scheme was welcomed by residents, but now the council is proposing to scrap the scheme in some streets.

The county council said it had been monitoring the parking arrangements and found that Renny Street and Ellis Leazes were only lightly used by residents.

They felt allowing all motorists to park there for a charge would help ease parking problems in the city.

But the plan has angered people living in the area who say they indicated they did not want pay-and-display parking when consulted two years ago.

Alan Lumsdon, a member of the local residents' group who lives in Kepier Terrace, said: "We have had residents parking for two years now and now they are going to start imposing pay-and-display without consultation.

"There are some people who have just moved in here who said they would not have come if it was just a free-for-all."

Mr Lumsdon said he contacted about half a dozen other residents' groups in the city, who also felt the council was not taking their opinions into account over parking.

As a result, the Bakehouse Lane/Ellis Leazes Residents' Group has lodged a complaint with the county council about what they describe as the side-lining of the consultation process.

In a similar situation, Hawthorn Terrace Neighbourhood Parking Group recently called on the council to adopt their suggestions for easing congestion in the streets surrounding the bus station, involving more residents-only parking.

But council officials refused to consider it, asking residents to vote only on the council's proposal for mixed permit holder and pay-and-display parking.

A county council spokesman said: "We are consulting on proposed changes. When we introduced on-street parking schemes, we always said we would monitor their operation and if they needed fine-tuning we would consider it, and that is what we are doing at the moment."