COUNCILLORS are being urged to compromise on the controversial decision to scrap a Clitheroe sports centre's discount parking scheme.

Ribble Valley Council came under fire from people using Roefield Leisure Centre, in Edisford Road, when it ended a scheme that repaid all but 10p of their car parking ticket price.

Councillors have now been asked to back a new tariff of 10p for up to 30 minutes to help parents dropping off their children at the centre.

However, the council recommendations, which also include a review of the charges after 12 months, have been branded a token gesture by both centre users and its manager Tony Rodia.

Under the new regime, introduced last month, users now have to pay full price to park in the car park over the road from the centre, on top of their centre entrance fee or gym membership.

The refund system, which initially saw customers receive a 100 per cent refund on their parking ticket, was introduced by councillors to help 'soften the blow' of people paying to use the sports centre.

Council bosses said the refund system was scrapped because it wasn't fair to people who weren't using the sports centre. All car park users now face having to pay 70p for up to four hours during the winter months, from October 1 to April 30, and 35p for the first hour plus extra for additional hours during the summer months.

The latest recommendations have been made by the council's Car Park Working Group and will be considered at a meeting of the planning committee tomorrow night.

Councillor Richard Sherras, a member of the working group, made up of four councillors on the planning committee, said: "There is only anecdotal evidence to suggest that Roefield will suffer problems.

"We agreed there was a potential problem with people being dropped off which is why we've suggested this solution.

"Our information since the new system started actually says that visitor numbers, particularly to Ribblesdale Pool, have actually gone up"

Ruth Hargreaves, of Hall Street, Clitheroe, a regular gym-goer, was one of around 1,000 people who signed a petition calling on the council to reinstate its refund policy.

She said: "I don't see this as a step forward at all.

"It's not a compromise, it's a token gesture.

"They are still charging people 10p to drop off their kids which seems like knit-picking, and it hasn't addressed the wider issues."

Centre manager Tony Rodia, who had earlier claimed that scrapping the refund policy could have a detrimental effect on the long-term viability of the centre, said: "We welcome some kind of drop off zone that enables parents to drop off their children.

"I am pleased there's been a rethink, but I see it as a token effort."