WILTSHIRE Council has been urged to follow through on its promise to cut car parking charges in the city centre after being handed control of business rates by Chancellor George Osborne.

Leader Jane Scott told the Journal in July that, if given power to change non-domestic rates the council pays on car parks, she could slash charges.

On Monday, Mr Osborne said during a speech at the Conservative party conference he would hand back all £26 billion raised in rates, hailing it as a “devolution revolution”.

Currently money raised by nondomestic rates, which is a tax on all commercial property, is collected by local authorities and handed to central government who then redistribute the cash.

Labour councillor John Walsh called on the council to cut car parking charges saying the spring review, which will see parking fees raised to £8 a day, “did very little to encourage greater use of the city’s car parks”. Changes to the car parking fees come into force on October 26.

He said: “As the Magna Carta effect begins to fade, the Barons have marched off into the sunset and winter approaches, perhaps we can hope that Baroness Scott will see fit to carry out her promise of reducing car parking charges now the chancellor has promised control of business rates.

“Salisbury has one-third of the car parking spaces in Wiltshire but provides two-thirds of the car parking revenue. We have lost enough of our independent shops already, surely this must be the time to give them some much needed relief ?”

The council says it will wait for details from the government before making any announcements.

Any changes are unlikely to come into effect until 2017.

It comes as Wiltshire Council submitted its devolution proposals to central government. They centre around empowering local communities and encouraging greater co-working within the public sector in the county.