Parking charges need to be increased to support Allerdale council services, a leading district councillor has said.

Councillor Mike Heaslip, executive member responsible for car parking, said council tax revenue did not cover the cost of bin collections and the council's other sources of income were vital to support its other services.

He said proposed parking charge increases followed public consultation last year in which people said services should be operated more commercially.

He added: "Our ability to raise funds is limited because council tax is capped.

"One of our main sources of revenue is the commercial services that we operate which prop up the services."

His comments were made to Keswick Town Council as he attended to hear the town's views on the proposals.

The council had already received a petition of more than 4,000 signatures objecting to its planned changes in the town, which it is feared would affect businesses, Theatre by the Lake and residents.

Proposals include increasing the times during which standard charges apply by three hours to 7am to 9pm and introducing a £2 overnight fee.

The price of annual parking permit for the town would jump from £100 to £400, with an annual permit covering all towns rising from £290 to £500.

The maximum stay at Bell Close car park would drop from three hours to two.

Business owners said parking charges were a sticking point for visitors.

Gillian Ania, owner of The Card Collection, said: "When visitors come into the shop the thing they complain most about the parking charges. We're constantly apologising."

Shopkeeper Maggie Lambert said a recent visitor had described feeling like he had been mugged because of the fees.

She said: "We won't get repeat business. Somebody needs to meet us halfway."

There were also concerns increased permit charges would make them unaffordable for town centre workers.

Judy Sharpe, chairman of Keswick Tourism Association, said businesses would like to see one parking system employed across the Lake District National Park to make it simpler for visitors.

She added that a pay-on-exit system was preferable for traders.

Town councillor Andrew Lysser called for any increases in Keswick to be scrapped in light of the recent floods.

He said: "It could be two years before Keswick could be back to normal.

"If you pour scorn on people's attitudes to Keswick because you charge them exorbitantly how do you expect to keep them in Allerdale?

"It will have a snowball effect on Cockermouth and the west coast."

He questioned how much profit would be made once increased staffing to police 24-hour charging was factored in.

Suggestions were made to provide cheaper permits for residents, encouraging more to buy them, and providing limited free parking for those living in the town.

The council has not increased parking charges since April 2012.

The consultation on the proposals has now ended.

The responses will be considered by the council's executive committee before it votes on the plans.

Coun Heaslip said: "These are genuinely proposals. Nothing's ruled in and nothing's ruled out.

"My objectives are to ensure that car parks are full but not too full that people can't get a space."

The consultation ended last week and more than 1,000 people responded online.