PARKING changes brought into Leigh to boost trade could be having the opposite effect, traders claim.

Shopkeepers have told the Echo the two-hour free parking introduced to Leigh Broadway in 2013 has actually stopped customers from parking in peak shopping periods.

They claim customers end up using the parking spaces for far longer then the two hours allowed, as the rules mean parking charges don’t apply between 6pm and 9am.

It means someone can park for free from 4pm on a Friday to 11am on a Saturday, hitting busy weekend trade.

Angela Clary, of Bubbles Pet Care, said: “It’s had a massive effect on us. The main problem is not so much lost customers as the fact my husband Alan is often out until 9.30pm or 10pm doing deliveries because customers who would normally come in to the shop to pick stuff up can’t get parked.

“None of us realised the impact it would have at the time, but more and more people have been coming in telling us it’s a nightmare for them to find anywhere to park.

“I you’re coming here and leaving with a 15lb bag of dog food, you want to park quite close – otherwise you’re going to go to Pets at Home.”

David and Michelle Roberts, of David Roberts Jewellery, said Saturdays were a real sticking point.

Mr Roberts said: “The rules are in force between 9am and 6pm, which means it’s possible for people to park in a bay at 4pm on a Friday and not have to move their car until 11am on a Saturday.

“A lot of the time this is people going out for a drink at about 8pm and picking up their cars in the morning. I walk down here to work every morning and it’s always already full up – but those spaces are there for shoppers.”

Mrs Roberts added: “There are traders who back the two hours and those who don’t, but I think it would work a lot better if they extended the rules to start earlier, perhaps from 6am.”

Other traders say the changes have had a positive effect.

Fenella Katsoris, manager of Scape Interiors, said: “I think it really helps. It’s made a real difference to us because one hour just wasn’t long enough.

“Two hours is a nice amount of time to have a coffee and a shop and maybe lunch.

“People come in and they’re more relaxed, so they spend more money.

“I always hear people in the shop saying how great it is they’ve got two hours to shop.”