The proposed scheme had been altered before the meeting following discussions with representatives of Diss, Harleston, Wymondham and Loddon town councils to better accommodate the needs of the four towns.

Following complaints from Diss Town Council, all car parks in the town have been classified as short stay and the cost of parking for more than four hours reduced from £5 to £3.

The first hour will be free, the second £1, two to three hours £1.50 and three to four hours £2. Season tickets for the town's car parks will cost £240 a year – rather than £300 as was originally suggested.

A proposal for free parking on Saturday afternoons in Diss, put forward by Liberal Democrat leader Murray Gray, was rejected, with the town's representatives, Tony Palmer and Glynn Walden, abstaining from the vote.

Mr Palmer said: "We abstained because it was a matter we were already dealing with.

"Of course I am in favour of free parking on a Saturday afternoon in Diss and of course we are fighting for Diss, as we have done all the way along on this issue."

Mr Walden said he abstained from the vote because it was not part of the town council's resolution. "The town council asked for one hour's free parking and a reduction in the cost of all-day parking," he said.

"I do not believe that free parking on a Saturday afternoon would bring more shoppers into Diss."

South Norfolk Council leader John Fuller said an agreement had been made in principle for Harleston, whereby the district council leased Bullock Fair Close and Broad Street Car to the town council for an annual fee.

This two-year arrangement would mean the continuation of free car parking in the town.

But Sue Kuzmic, chairman of Harleston Town Council, said she was disappointed with the outcome of the meeting.

"We haven't made a decision as to which way we are going to go," she said. "There are three options on the table – a second hour free, which would cost the town council a lot of money; having the charges; or us leasing the car parks from South Norfolk Council, keeping them free for the user."

Dr Gray described the way the process was handled as 'a dog's breakfast' and questioned the order in which it had been carried out.

Speaking to Mr Fuller, he said: "You should have started by talking to each of the market towns and the surrounding villages about the parking management of each town.

"That's what you are doing now on the hoof.

"You are ending up with inconsistency across the district, which none of the towns actually want."

But Mr Fuller said he thought the charging scheme would benefit all the towns involved.

He said: "I believe that when the signs go up, residents will say 'what was all the fuss about?'.

"We cannot keep the status quo – we have to change."

The new car parking charges will start on October 1.

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