A decision to reintroduce parking charges at council car parks in the run-up to Christmas is “gutting” for local businesses and just an “attempt to gather revenue” that will receive a “severe backlash”, councillors have said.

Ceredigion County Council announced it would introduce cashless charging at the majority of its car parks from Tuesday, 1 December, after charging was suspended at the start of the UK-wide lockdown in March.

Councillors have hit out at the plans however, saying it will hit Christmas trade for already struggling town centres, with over 1,000 residents already signing a petition calling on Ceredigion council to scrap the plans.

Ceredigion Liberal Democrats, which started the campaign against the plans on Friday, said they launched the petition in response to an “outcry from businesses and residents across the county”.

The plans to charge for parking in Cardigan however will not go ahead at this time due to the current Covid-19 infection rate, it was decided by Ceredigion County Council’s Cabinet on Tuesday.

Aberaeron town and county councillor Elizabeth Evans said the “negative impact” of the charges on town centres and businesses “should be obvious” and has written to the council’s leadership to get the decision reversed.

“I understand that this decision was made because the Welsh Government will not refund the council for lost car park revenue,” she said.

“The decision is clearly not Covid-19 related, but an attempt to gather revenue.

“The backlash will rightly be severe.”

The move was also panned for not giving people enough notice to switch to a cashless system, with older people less likely to use a bank card, and that it won’t effectively curb the virus.

Cllr Elizabeth Evans added: “The impact on so many older people who do not carry cards as a matter of course is incredibly unfair when they have been given no prior warning and no consultation has taken place.”

Ceredigion council said: “Cashless parking charges are being introduced in Ceredigion to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission associated with cash transactions.

“There will be no option to pay by cash.”

On the petition, a council spokesperson said: “During a Cabinet meeting held virtually on 1 December, a petition was discussed against reintroducing the parking fees.

“Most parking providers, including all neighbouring local authorities, have charged either fully or partly throughout the Covid-19 period while no charges have been made in Ceredigion for over eight months.

“The loss of income for Ceredigion has been significant and the Welsh Government have indicated that they will not offset ongoing losses. The situation is therefore unsustainable and as such parking charges have had to be reintroduced.”

Free parking will be available however each Saturday in the run-up to Christmas.

The petition against the plans can be signed at www.ceredigionlibdems.org.uk/parking

Cashless charging will be introduced at the following car parks from 1 December 2020:

· Regent Street, Aberaeron

· North Beach, Aberaeron

· Maesyrafon, Aberystwyth

· Lower Park Avenue, Aberystwyth

· North Road, Aberystwyth

· Cwmins, Lampeter

· Market Street, Lampeter

· Rookery, Lampeter

Cashless charging will be introduced at the following seasonal car parks from 1 March 2021:

· Church Road and Rock Street, New Quay

· New Promenade, Aberystwyth

· South Beach, Aberaeron

Parking will not be charged at these car parks for the time being:

· Bath House, Cardigan

· Fairfield, Cardigan

· Greenfeld Square, Cardigan

· Mwldan, Cardigan

· Quay Street, Cardigan

· Gloster Row, Cardigan

· Porth, Llandysul

· Talbot Yard, Tregaron