THE brewery which has caused outrage in Tottington by turning the village's main car park into pay and display has agreed to reduce its charges and introduce some free car parking.

Greene King Pub Company came under fire after introducing charges to the Robin Hood car park in Market Street forcing customers to pay 50p for 30mins, £1 for one hour, £2 for two hours, £3 for three hours and £10 for more than four hours - £6.50 more than motorists pay for all-day shopping in Bury town centre.

The brewery argued the charges, which were in place 24 hours a day, seven days a week including Bank Holidays, were necessary to ensure spaces were available for the pub's customers and to stop the "abuse" of the car park.

The decision sparked a backlash with angry traders who launched a Save Our Village campaign claiming that charging visitors to park in Tottington would kill off trade. Within a week of the pay and display coming into force, traders were already reporting a fall in business and described the village as a "ghost town".

Now, following a meeting with Tottington councillor Yvonne Wright and representative for Tottington traders Karen Stapleton, brewery chiefs have agreed to reduce the charges.

Instead of paying 50p for 30 minutes and £1 for one hour, visitors will now pay 20p for 30mins and 50p for the first hour which will still be redeemable by spending £5 at the Robin Hood.

Customers will be able to park for free on Sundays between 9am to 12noon and on Christmas Day. Overnight parking from 9pm to 9am will now be just £1 instead of £1 per hour and the Tottington Car Park sign will be changed to Pay and Display Car Park.

Lighting is also to be installed at the site and CCTV could be introduced. Disabled drivers displaying their blue badge will be able to park for free.

Tony Hodgson, Greene King estate manager, said: "As a local business and employer committed to putting its customers first, we were happy to agree a compromise solution with community representatives.

"We agree that the charges for short-term use by members of the community should not be prohibitive and we feel the new charge structure reflects this"

Coun Wright has informed traders of the developments. She said: "The traders have acknowledged we have made some progress but were disappointed that the brewery did not reverse the decision completely - but at least we have some free car parking.

"We are going to closely monitor the effect on business in the village throughout September so at the end of the month we will have a better picture and will be in constant contact with the brewery."