Tesco bosses have agreed to carry out an urgent review of Parking charges at their flagship new superstore following a flood of complaints.

The £26 million store in Church Road, Hove, has caused fury among shoppers and traders in its first two days.

A 90-minute stay in the car park costs £5, which is waived if shoppers spend more than £5 in-store.

But customers parking for longer than 90 minutes must pay £25. And the cost of staying for more than three hours is £50 - 100 times the cost of the roadside spots nearby.

Traders say the charges make a mockery of Tesco's claim the new store would draw shoppers into the area.

Brighton and Hove City Council is carrying out an audit to decide whether the fees are in breach of a planning agreement.

A spokeswoman said officers had believed the supermarket charges after the first 90 minutes would be in line with its own.

She said: "The store has been open for two days and we are already carrying out a full audit.

"We are speaking to Tesco about the situation and hope to resolve this through negotiation without need for legal action."

Local parking spaces were lost when the car park in Stirling Place, behind the Co-Op in nearby Blatchington Road, was closed.

The land was used for the new St Andrew's school, which was moved to make way for Tesco.

A smaller pay-and-display car park was provided by the city council in Haddington Street. Charges there are 20p for the first hour, 70p for two hours and £1.30 for three hours.

On-street meter parking nearby is even cheaper at 10p for the first hour, 30p for two hours and 50p for three hours.

David Vokins, manager of Vokins Furniture and Beds Centre on Sackville Road, said: "Tesco's policy shows why stores like this do not belong in town centres.

"On my first visit to the store I was stunned by the restrictions on parking. I though they were a joke so I asked a member of staff if they really intended to implement them and he confirmed they did.

"Any customer visiting Hove and shopping at Tesco will only have time to visit Tesco."

Keith Bryden, of Hove Business Association, said: "Tesco's charges are ludicrous and I would like to see them brought into line with local parking fees.

"My understanding is that it was part of the planning conditions that they would be in line with the council's own charges. In my view, Tesco is being a bit of a bully."

The charges received a mixed response from customers this morning.

Most agreed that they would prevent commuters from using it as a long-stay car park and said signs explaining the rules were clearly displayed at the entrance.

Waitrose in Western Road introduced a similar parking charge at the weekend.

One pensioner, who did not want to be named, was caught out after deciding to visit the new store on her way into Brighton.

She said: "I just popped in to buy a bar of chocolate and have a nose around. I spent £1.08 and didn't realise that I had to spend a minimum of £5 to be able to use the car park free.

"Now I have got to pay £5 to get out of the car park. It was an expensive bar of chocolate and I won't be coming back."

Andy Aldern, of Somerhill Road, said: "Parking in Brighton and Hove is such a problem at the moment that something has to be done to control it.

"It used to be a nightmare where I live until the council introduced residents' parking.

"Before that, people from all over the city would leave their cars outside our homes for days and weeks on end. Now we can park there again.

"You would get the same thing happening with the new car park here if the charges were not high enough to be a deterrent."

A Tesco spokeswoman said the company had understood it could introduce charges higher than the council's as long as it did not undercut the council.

She said: "We are currently looking at the terms of the agreement and will review the situation.

"The idea was that customers who use new store would also be able to park there while using the shops in George Street.

"The manager will use his discretion about the excess charges if a genuine Tesco customer stays more than the 90 minutes as a result of visiting other traders in the area.

"The store has only been open for two days but we are happy to be flexible and review the situation as things progress."

Thursday September 18, 2003