NEW Sunday parking charges in Blackburn town centre will come into force this weekend.

The fees of £1 for up to three hours and £2 for more than three hours will apply for both on and off-street parking.

A general rise in parking charges will add 20p to each band for on-street meter parking and for parking on the council’s off-street car parks.

The new charges took effect from Monday October 1 with the first Sunday of the new regime being October 7.

Warning notices of the new charges were posted around Blackburn town centre last month.

Council bosses hope the new charges will raise Blackburn with Darwen Council £45,000 annually.

In August, a last ditch bid to halt the Sunday parking charge plan failed.

Conservative councillors condemned the new fees for on and off-street parking as ‘short-sighted’ and ‘fleecing’ drivers who want to go shopping.

But at a special call-in committee meeting at Blackburn town hall, the measure was voted down six to one by members.

Cllr Phil Riley, who made the decision to introduce Sunday parking charges, said general fees had been pegged since 2011 while the shopping experience in the town had improved greatly.

He added it was hoped the Sunday charges would bring in about £45,000 per year in revenue, offsetting a one-off £5,000 administrative cost.