PRICE rises are never popular, especially when there is a cheaper option available.

So when all-day charges in the city’s most competitive car park rise from £3 to £5, it is only natural that drivers – especially daily users in lower paid jobs – will seek another option.

The answer to where the hundreds of cars previously using the Merton Meadow now park is partly found within the residential streets of Moorfields.

The inner city neighbourhood is one of the last to hold out against the residents’ parking schemes now found in St James, Portfields and Aylestone Hill. There, households must pay £30 for the privilege of leaving their car somewhere near their home.

But many feel the price is worth paying to prevent motorists blocking their drives and stopping friends, carers and builders from parking near their house.

Once residents’ parking schemes surround the city, and plans are in place for Moorfields, then motorists will be left with little option than to pay.

And then the debate about how much is a fair price will be all the more apparent, especially when £5 is more expensive than that found in neighbouring cities like Worcester.

The fear then is that shoppers will join commuters in looking for their own alternative – but it will be far far away from Moorfields.