THE BOSS of Newquay's new £6 million cinema has slammed "excessive" car parking charges in the town, claiming they are directly affecting his business.

David Williams told the Cornish Guardian that in the past month he has been swamped with complaints from moviegoers who were sick of forking out £3.60 or more to park.

The director of the Lighthouse Cinema criticised Cornwall Council – which runs Newquay's 16 car parks – for encouraging businesses to invest in the town without offering any support.

He said: "We are getting constant complaints about the excessive car parking charges. It's a serious concern for us and must be for other businesses in the town.

"While on one hand Cornwall Council appears to welcome private investment into towns such as Newquay, on the other hand it does little in the way of positive support."

Now maverick town councillor Norman Thompson is spearheading a crusade to persuade parking chiefs to rethink their pricing strategy in Newquay, and has convinced most of his fellow councillors to send a letter to Cornwall Council investigating the possibility of parking concessions.

Speaking at a full council meeting last Wednesday, Mr Thompson said: "We are now in a situation where patrons are having to pay what I consider to be a penal charge in the form of car parking costs."

Joanna Kenny said she doubted Cornwall Council would agree to concessions, which could only be possible if the town council took over Newquay's car parks.

She said Cornwall Council would be keen to offload the service, but any deal could be costly. "It won't be a quick job," she said.

Patrick Lambshead also voiced fears that concessions at St George's Road car park – located across the road from the cinema – would be seen as discriminatory in favour of a particular business.

However, town mayor Andy Hannan said the lowering of car parking costs would benefit all businesses in the town – an opinion shared by Mr Williams.

Despite this, a Cornwall Council spokesman said: "While the council is always happy to discuss the options for any business to operate a system whereby the business rebates parking charges for its customers, a general reduction in parking charges to favour one business would have to be financed by charges in other areas at other times. This would lead to the customers of other businesses subsidising the people using the cinema in Newquay, which would surely be inherently unfair on those businesses."

●Visitors to St George's Road car park would have to pay £3.60 to watch a two-hour film. If they arrive after 6pm, they still have to pay £2.10. Evening parking near St Austell's White River Cinema is free.