FURIOUS business leaders stepped up the pressure this week on Wycombe District Council to revoke a 47 per cent hike on long stay parking charges in Marlow.

Around 300 letters have been fired off to the council from businesses in the town pleading with them to reconsider.

The cost of long stay (12 hour) parking in Marlow town centre will rise from £3.40 to £5 on April 2.

The district council claims that it consulted with traders on the rise but Marlow Chamber of Trade says the consultation was a farce.

Colin Berks, president of Marlow Chamber of Trade, said: "Being told that the car parking charges are going up and the council taking no notice of the objections or representations is to our mind not consultation.

"This increase will seriously damage the town."

However, Cllr Maurice Oram, speaking at a Marlow Town Council meeting on Tuesday, said the chairman of Wycombe District Council's parking transport and environment committee assured members that Marlow Chamber of Trade had agreed to the rise in principle.

He added: "Somewhere along the line someone is not telling the truth."

E-learning consultancy IQdos, High Street, Marlow, sparked the letter writing campaign. The firm has threatened to quit the town, claiming parking for their employees will be too expensive.

Liza Smith, business administrator, said: "I would hope this makes a difference or least forces the council to reconsider."

Businesses in the town say that, with poor public transport and high business rates, workers are being priced out of the town.

A recent survey of visitors to the town has also highlighted the high cost of parking.

This is how other long-stay, all-day, parking charges in neighbouring towns, as of April 2, compare to Marlow:

Amersham Old Town: £1.20

Amersham-on-the-Hill: £1.40

Beaconsfield: £1.60 or £2.20

Bourne End: £3

Henley-on-Thames: £6

High Wycombe: £3 outlying, £5 central

Mrs Smith added: "With parking charges so much cheaper in neighbouring towns, we are seriously considering moving out towards Bourne End."

Within the new parking charges the council is also introducing a new 30p half-an-hour tariff in West Street.