1. Ballymoney

James Simpson has been in business on Main Street for 30 years. He says:

"I am a newsagent, tobacconist and confectioner, so most of my sales are around about £6 or £7 for a packet of cigarettes, but they could be as low as 30p or 40p for a newspaper or packet of sweets. Someone just nipping in to buy a paper is not going to spend 30p to park outside. Instead, they will just buy everything at the supermarket where there is free parking. It just does not make any sense.

"Ballymoney is an urban centre for a rural hinterland. People are driving in from villages and shopping in Ballymoney and if these on-street parking charges were to be imposed it would only benefit big retailers like Tesco, which have free car parks. We already have the one-hour time limit, which I think works very well and keeps traffic moving through the town.

"It isn't worth killing off town centres like Ballymoney, where there are already shops that have had to close because of the recession, just to generate money for the short-term.

"It is just another sort of stealth tax from the Government on an easy target."

2. Ballynahinch

Florist Stephen Watson has been in business on Main Street for 15 years. He says:

"Small country towns are different to the big cities. People expect to pay for parking when they go to Belfast or Lisburn, but not here.

"If they go ahead and introduce on-street parking charges they will push people out of town to the bigger shopping centres, and if that hits just 20% of our customers then we would be in big trouble.

"Everything comes down to money and the knock-on effect to retailers, especially small, independent outlets like ours, is huge. We have already had a tough couple of years and this will be just another hit.

"As far as I can see, the traffic wardens are like a private enterprise and just another easy way to get money for the Government. It's just another tax that motorists are having to pay, and when you look at the price of fuel it's ridiculous.

"It's businesses like ourselves that will pay the price."

3. Newtownards

Clothing retailer William Gilliland has been in business in Ards for 22 years. He says:

"Business is satisfactory at the minute. But, like all retailers, we have taken a hammering because of the recession. During 2008/09 and 2009/10 we had quite tricky years.

"We have had to look at a cost base and restructured ourselves to cope. The good times didn't last forever, so we've to keep telling ourselves the bad times won't last forever too.

"Big out-of-town developments with free parking have been sanctioned by the minster, but at some point they need to have a serious look at what they are doing. There just seems to be a drip-drip on the self-destruct button.

"This is not about competition, they should at least allow everyone to have a level playing field. We have seen the demise of a number of our competitors offering personal service and we don't want to go the same way. I will be pressing the politicians on this issue."

4. Ballycastle

Paul Cochrane has run an electrical shop on Ann Street for the past 17 years. He says:

"In Ballycastle we would be very, very dependent on on-street parking. We have the one-hour limit in relation to on-street parking and that works very well at the minute. It means that someone can come down the town, do a quick shop for whatever they need and then go within the hour. It means traffic is also rotating every hour.

"Currently we have Ann Street car park, which is free, and then parking on the street. We have been quite proactive in Ballycastle in addressing parking issues. We wouldn't be opposed to the car park having a fixed charge because that would disperse the all-day parkers and leave room for shoppers and customers. But we would be totally opposed to the on-street charges as they would put people off coming into the town completely. Instead, people would choose the bigger supermarkets where they have free parking.

"Also, Ballycastle has a lot of elderly people who need the easy access of being able to park outside the shops.

"Ballycastle is full of small, family-run businesses and retailers have had it hard enough over the past while because of the recession. Everything now is geared towards the out-of-town shopping centres.

"I think to introduce on-street charges province-wide would be very harsh. Every district should be looked at independently because every town is different."

5. Limavady

Butcher Sean McCloskey has been in business for more than 20 years. He says:

"It's a difficult enough time for traders in smaller towns and this would just make customers go to bigger towns like Coleraine, Ballymena or Belfast, or to the out-of-town developments.

"The supermarkets and big shopping centres are the ones that will benefit, it will do people like us no good at all.

"Traders in the smaller towns will have to fight against this - whether we're successful or not is another matter. I am not sure if we will be able to change it, but we will certainly try. You expect to have to pay when you go somewhere like Belfast but not in the likes of Limavady. I am totally opposed to any sort of charges for on-street parking.

"If these charges are pushed through they would have a very serious impact on small, family-run businesses like mine. Times are tough already and this would be just another blow.

"I'm giving the Belfast Telegraph campaign my full backing."

6. Coleraine

Eric McKinney's family has run a home bakery for the past 40 years. He says:

"On-street parking charges would not do small businesses any good. I think the town is getting it bad enough at the minute. If they introduce charges to park on the street it will chase people out of the town towards the retail parks.

"The charges would affect absolutely everybody and would be just another reason for people not to shop locally. Are they trying to kill the high street?

"For us, luckily, business is steady at the minute. The only people that I can see benefiting from on-street parking charges would be the big supermarkets who can provide free spaces at their shops."

What we are calling for...

The Belfast Telegraph is urging the next DRD Minister to scrap plans to introduce on-street car parking charges in towns across Northern Ireland.

Traders across the province have already expressed through this paper serious concerns about the impact that this plan could have on the character of our town centres. At a time of economic difficulties the Stormont executive should be supporting our local retailers and recognising the vital role they play in the economy.