More than 1,300 people have called for charges in a car park to be lowered to encourage shoppers.

The calls come as part of a petition calling for Harrow Borough Council to cut the cost of parking in the Cambridge Road car park, in North Harrow from 80p to 20p.

Earlier this year was the first time the council began charging for the car park, which had been free for nearly a decade.

Under changes to charges introduced last year North Harrow was classified as a ‘district’ centre.

Petitioners are calling for the area to be reclassified as a ‘local’ centre, reducing the cost of parking for an hour.

Headstone North Conservative councillor Janet Mote, who collected the petition, said: “Traders and residents in North Harrow have done a lot of work trying to make the area more attractive for shoppers, but the car park charges dented their progress a bit.

“Shops are reporting fewer customers, with some having to close earlier in the day to cover their losses.

“The traders and regular customers know the area still has a lot to offer, but I think others are put off by the high cost of parking.”

“A previous campaign to scrap the car park charge entirely was unsuccessful, which is why I’m trying this new approach based on comparing different areas of the borough.

“My hope is that this approach will be more persuasive, and that the council will reconsider North Harrow’s parking band – perhaps starting a pilot at the cheaper rate – thereby making the area a more competitive place to shop and boosting local businesses.”

Cllr Varsha Parmar said: “We are keen to make it easy for people to use local shops, which is why we introduced 20 minutes free on street parking.

“Changing the designation of a retail area to a local district centre as suggested by the petition is not something Harrow Council can do on its own.

“Both parking and planning policy are not easily altered, and a planning change to local district centre would need the approval of the Mayor of London, who would need to be convinced of the case as the status of different parts of London boroughs fall under his London plan.

“However I understand the strength of feeling behind this petition and we will consider it carefully.”