Protesters are hoping controversial Parking charges for traders in Brighton and Hove will be cut or scrapped after a meeting with councillors.

The city council brought in a charge of £3 for waivers, allowing traders to park on yellow lines while they work.

A bid to reduce the price of the waivers is being made at a council meeting next week.

Liberal Democrats on Brighton Council have tabled a motion to next Thursday's full council meeting to reduce the price from £3 to £1.

The introduction of parking waivers for tradesmen who need to park in restricted areas while carrying out work has provoked a storm of protest, including a go-slow protest last month, which caused traffic delays in the city centre.

The traders, who have formed themselves into Traders Against Parking Persecution (Tapp), said the extra charge was an unfair tax on their business.

Under the strict new parking regime in Brighton and Hove, traffic wardens are giving £30 and £60 tickets to all vehicles they find infringing parking regulations.

Alan Sablon, of A and A Building and Construction, which does a lot of work in the controlled city centre parking zones, estimated waivers for his fleet of vehicles could cost him £5,000 a year.

The Lib Dems are also asking for the Parking Shops in North Road, Brighton, and Hove Town Hall, to be open from 7.30am so more tradesmen can get waivers before work.

Lib Dem group leader Paul Elgood said: "There has been much debate over the introduction of the £3 charge and we believe the council should be responding more positively to the points the traders make.

"Three pounds for every call out is a lot and will in the end be transferred to the residents who already pay heavy parking fees.

"We are also seeking that the parking shop is open earlier in the morning, at a time when the tradesmen start work.

"We hope councillors of all parties can support the move to lower the direct cost of the waivers to make them fairer for those who use them. Other councils, such as Worthing, charge £1 for waivers."

Mr Elgood also wants traders to be able to apply for waivers via a credit card telephone hotline or over the internet.

He said: "You can pay your council tax over the internet so it should be possible to pay for a waiver."

Alan Sablon, of Tapp, said: "A £1 fee would be better but we would prefer the council to issue permanent waivers, preferably free of charge."

Tories are calling for the £3 charge to be abolished. They have tabled a motion to the meeting, saying the authority should be fair to traders.

Environment spokeswoman Pat Drake said: "We should help small businesses and their often low-income city centre customers by returning to the previous system of a phone call to the parking officer for a waiver to be provided at no cost to trader or client."

She said there was a gap in treatment bet-ween workers for the gas, electricity, telecommunications and water companies, who were not charged for waivers, and plumbers, electricians and builders who were.

The meeting will be held at Brighton Town Hall, starting at 4.30pm.