THE decision to make County Hall car parks in Dorchester pay and display has been postponed after a £60,000 discrepancy in anticipated parking income.

The proposal was to introduce pay and display parking outside office hours and limit the daytime hours to permit holders only.

A unanimous vote by members of Dorset County Council's Roads and Rights of Way Committee deferred the recommendation pending further investigations.

The original projection by consultant Deloitte estimated that the parking scheme would generate up to £80,000 per year in income for the county council as part of their Fit for the Future programme.

Transportation Manager Timothy Westwood told the committee that a more realistic estimate is more likely to be £20,000.

Committee chairman Coun Malcolm Shakesby said: "This is quite a serious discrepancy of £60,000 and I think we need to wait until the next meeting so we can get more information."

The scheme is also estimated to cost £20,000 to install and the annual maintenance, enforcement and cash collection would cost £5,000 a year.

There have been 23 letters of objection and a petition from the Collition club signed by 229 people.

County councillor Trevor Jones asked the committee to consider the residents in nearby streets - who currently have special parking permits.