A CAR parking lottery in Crewe looks set to ensue as fees rise in a bid to free up spaces for future shoppers.

Residents will have to pay £250 to park near their homes while half of the borough's free spaces, often occupied all day by workers, will be axed.

Pay and display fees will go up by an average of 25% on most car parks and for the first time, motorists will have to pay to park at night.

Borough council bosses gave the go-ahead to a series of changes in an effort to attract shoppers to the town centre's future £110m re-vamp.

The council currently provides 358 free spaces - 179 of these are to be made pay and display.

Browning Street and Edleston Road car parks, both currently free, would become pay and display, as would Wood Street East.

Other proposals include charges on Lyceum Square on Mondays, on the market square in Nantwich on Fridays and reducing the length of stay on Bowers Row car park in Nantwich.

Council board members ruled out auctioning off free spaces to the highest bidders and instead agreed to award them in a parking lottery.

For a fixed price of £250-a-year, spaces will go to residents whose names are drawn out of a hat.

Council officer David Marren said: "If the proposed redevelopments take place, pressure on existing car parking space will increase significantly.

"Unfortunately, free car parks tend to be used for long stay- often all day- which means they are then lost to shoppers and other visitors."

Charges are expected to yield £21,000-a-year.

Business manager for the town centres Paul Burns said: "It is expected that town centre redevelopments will lead to the closure of some other car parks while work is taking place and so we need all our other car parks to be available as much as possible.

"The introduction of residents' permits is designed to help at least some of those living in local streets with their parking problems.

"However it is impossible to please everyone in such a busy town and provide reserved spaces for them."

Public consultation will take place before any changes come into effect in the New Year.