RESIDENTS in a Northumberland town have been assured parking restrictions at a shopping centre set to undergo a multi-million pound redevelopment will be reviewed.

As proposals for a £200m development at Manor Walks Shopping Centre in Cramlington were given the green light by planners, developers said they would look into the way the current parking system works.

Shoppers at Manor Walks are currently restricted to four-hour parking rules that mean no matter how short a time they stay, once they leave they cannot return again for at least another four hours or they will be fined.

But under plans by developers Hammerson for a complete overhaul of the south mall site – which will include a nine-screen cinema and an array of restaurants and shops – it has been conceded that issues surrounding the limitations will be addressed.

The concerns were raised at Northumberland County Council’s south east area planning committee, where Hammerson’s proposals for a 1,800-seat cinema and retail units to be built on the land opposite the Sainsbury’s garage at Manor Walks were unanimously approved.

Committee member and Cramlington councillor Wayne Daley said: “The main concerns I had was that they were only talking about creating an extra 56 parking spaces on the site to allow for the traffic using the cinema.

“To me that doesn’t add up, I can’t see how the additional spaces would cater for a 1,800-seater cinema.

“My point was they need to do more to open up some of the other spaces around Manor Walks, fundamentally making this silly four-hour parking rule impossible.

“It’s been said by Hammerson about creating the full day-out experience for people but the only experience people would get if the four-hour restriction wasn’t changed is a parking ticket.”