THE £1m worth of funding available to regenerate Thirsk must be spent on sorting out the town's parking problems, say leading businessmen.

Their ideas include building a multi-storey car park just off the market place and introducing parking charges.

Thirsk chamber of trade believes the only way to breathe economic prosperity back into the town is to make parking easier for visitors.

Up to £1m is available to regenerate Thirsk under the market town initiative, run by Yorkshire Forward. The steering group in charge of the project is to hire a top team of consultants to look into the best way of spending the cash.

Mr Don Moore, chairman of the chamber of trade and landlord of the Lord Nelson pub, said the consultants should be urged to look at parking as a priority.

Coun Jan Marshall of Thirsk Town Council suggested that a deal could be reached with British Telecom to use its depot, as it is never locked and usually has only one van on it.

Mr Tony Lazenby blamed the parking congestion on workers in Thirsk who used Millgate car park as a pick-up point for travelling to jobs out of town. He said they drove to Millgate and left their cars, taking up spaces which could be used by shoppers and tourists. "If there was a charge on Millgate, people would think twice," he said.

Others feared charging for parking on Millgate would pave the way for Hambleton District Council to introduce parking fees throughout Thirsk