YORK council leader Steve Galloway has responded to furious protests against parking charges by issuing an extraordinary challenge to the Evening Press and the people of York.

Speaking at a stormy and acrimonious public meeting last night attended by more than 100 people, he offered to reduce or even scrap the controversial evening charges - if the paper succeeded in encouraging residents to recycle much more rubbish.

He said that if more people used the kerbside recycling bins and skip site facilities and dumped less refuse, the authority could save hundreds of thousands of pounds in landfill tax, with the savings used to cut the parking fees. "Even better" would be needed to achieve zero charges.

Coun Galloway said today that the proposal would be formally launched in about a week's time, but a 50 per cent increase in recycling would save the council about £100,000 in landfill tax. He said that even though kerbside recycling bins were a success, they were still being used by only about 50 per cent of households in some streets.

He was responding after Chief Reporter Mike Laycock had told the meeting that the paper's Stop The Highway Robbery campaign, calling for the scrapping of evening charges and unnecessary yellow lines in the city centre, had won massive and growing backing from readers.

A succession of angry residents and businessmen and women spoke out against charges and restrictions at the two-hour meeting, which was organised at the York Railway Institute by the York TUC.

Small independent traders from streets such as Goodramgate, Fossgate and Micklegate complained about a severe drop in revenue, which was reported in detail in last night's Evening Press.

Stephanie Wood, from the Groves, attacked the doubling in residents parking scheme charges, branding them a "stealth tax" on people living in terraced streets without gardens and drives where they could park their cars.

Representatives of choirs said evening charges had affected their ability to rehearse in city centre locations, and claimed that the cultural life of the city centre was being put in jeopardy.

James Rayne, of the York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir, which raises £20,000 for local charities each year, said it met in St William's College for rehearsals but many members were retired people on fixed incomes and charges were beginning to hit attendances.

Coun Galloway, who offered to meet businesses and residents to discuss their concerns, explained the financial difficulties which had led to introduction of the charges, which he primarily blamed on inadequate grant for York from the Government. He called for the city to unite to fight for a fairer deal from the Government.

He also vigorously defended York's Park & Ride service, branding its critics "Luddites." Acknowledging claims that evening charges had impacted on the entertainment and voluntary sector, he revealed that the council was to investigate the possibility of extending at least one of the Park & Ride schemes into late at night, so it could carry people back to their cars after spending the evening out in York.

Updated: 10:25 Friday, July 23, 2004