Sunday parking charges in Ammanford is “yet another barrier for the town’s shoppers” – according to a County Councillor.

Carregamman car park has been hit with the new Sunday charges that will apply from noon to 6pm.

However County Councillor Deian Harries fears it will drive shoppers out of the town centre.

“As a county councillor the majority of the complaints I receive are to do with parking charges,” said Cllr Harries.

“People can’t afford to pay £1.50 for a full day parking, it’s way too much for such a small town.

“Shoppers will continue to use the out of town stores and Ammanford will suffer.

“We have a fantastic town, but if you combine the parking charges with the recent recession, the shops are going to go out of business.”

Cllr Harries said he has been receiving more and more complaints from town residents who are suffering from shoppers parking outside their properties, trying to dodge the parking charges.

“Residents who live on the side streets are getting blocked in and can’t get out of their own drives,” he said.

“I urge the county council to look at better ways of getting people back into the town, not drive them away – this has just become yet another barrier for shoppers to overcome.”

A Carmarthenshire County Council spokesman said the Sunday charges are a new addition to the parking charging regime.

“The decision to proceed with the planned introduction of Sunday charging was made by the Executive Board,” he said.

“Car park charging serves a number of functions including the regulation of parking demand and to keep the supporting infrastructure in a serviceable condition.

“Any surplus from car parking is not profit as it is invested in a wide range of transport and highways related services.”