Jacqui Howells (left) and Sue Brotherwood are pictured in North Street car park in Sudbury

A MOVE to transfer the running of car parks in Babergh to a community-run charitable trust has cleared the first hurdle.

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Introducing charges at its car parks is one of the options being considered by Babergh District Council as part of efforts to save £3.5million during the next three years.

Visitors to towns in the area currently get free parking for up to three hours and some in the area fear the district would suffer if parking charges were brought in.

Sudbury Town Council, Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, and numerous other groups have come up with an alternative plan – taking on the management of car parks for the whole district from Babergh and running them under a newly-established charitable body, which would itself generate significant cost savings.

The aims of the proposals include keeping short-term parking free across Babergh and creating a long-term plan for the area’s car parks which is protected from the yearly fluctuations of council budgets

Members of the town council on Monday gathered to go through the business plan for the proposals and, apart from one section concerning long stay charges for commuters, have given it their seal of approval.

The submission paper will go to Babergh District Council later this month for consideration.

Deputy town clerk for Sudbury Jacqueline Howells said: “The council members were very positive about the proposals.

“The only thing they did not want in it was a part about introducing long-term charges to all car parks and for the station.

“The reason we had that in there was that people parking to commute into London could be charged for long-term parking.

“However, the council did not want that because it does not want to do anything to risk losing the railway.

“The paper will now be presented to Babergh.”

While the town council was discussing the proposals, Chris Storey, chairman of Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, was meeting with members of Hadleigh Chamber of Commerce about the proposals.

He said: “They are happy to support the idea in principle though we’ve still got a lot of work to do. There is a need to get a long-term solution for parking.”

Babergh, which says it is looking at all options to raise revenue and cut costs, is expected to meet on January 26 to discuss the proposals.