LEVELS of use at some town centre car parking facilities appear to be declining, councillors heard.

The Leader has previously reported on the concerns of Mold businesses following changes to car parking charges and tariffs in the town.

During a meeting of Mold Town Council last week Dave Hill was asked whether the footfall figures were available for the town in order to assess the impact of the changes.

He said: "We have not collected footfall figures for over four years.

"The town council received a payment from the county council for collecting this and they they withdrew it and said they'd do it themselves. They did it for about 12 months.

"Anecdotally I believe we can say footfall has fallen - the only real indicator we have is the level of car park use.

"We have made representation and were starting to receive data through on the level of car park tickets issued.

"The indication is that they are declining but it is early days at the moment."

Cllr Brian Lloyd said people are moving out of the car parks around the town, with spaces being available when they would not normally be.

Cllr Robin Guest said: "Although it would be misleading to say the change in car park charges has been a game changer for the town, it wold be a vast exaggeration to say it was the straw that breaks the camel's back.

"It is yet one more thing that is unhelpful and makes it more difficult.

"My experience of the car parks is that there are fewer and fewer people using them and the fact that there are spaces is not a good thing."

Among the changes to car parking allowances earlier this year was a reduction from three hours to two - which was widely criticised by businesses and councillors alike.

But despite the recent loss of some town centre businesses - such as Dodd’s Auctioneers and Valuers as well as New Look - Mr Hill explained there is still business interest in Mold with a new upholstery firm to open in the near future.

Councillor Gareth Williams said: "On the good side Mold is a destination for investment and that is evidenced by new shops moving in.

"On the downside, cars are being displaced at the very least. People are finding other places and going a bit further away to park.

"There might be a multitude of reasons for that but it certainly has increased since the parking charges have gone up and I think it is more to do with the two hours."