A political row has broken out after a last minute decision by groups of councillors to reject controversial parking proposals for central Brighton and Hove.

Plans to create two parking zones to replace eight in the city centre were scuppered by Green, Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors at a Brighton and Hove City Council environment committee meeting on Thursday night.

The decision means council officers will now have to consider alternatives to the two-zone system, including the possibility of keeping all eight affected zones: A, B, D, E, F, G, K and L, as they are.

Plans to replace voucher parking with pay-and-display schemes have been put on hold until the zone issues are resolved.

Labour councillors were furious at the decision which they said could cost the city more than £1 million in lost parking revenue and would set back plans for permit parking to be introduced in Preston Park, London Road and Hanover by several years.

Committee chairwoman Councillor Gill Mitchell said it was nothing more than "political mischief making" by the Conservative councillors and Lib Dem Paul Elgood, who supported an amendment motion proposed by Green leader Keith Taylor.

Mrs Mitchell, who voiced her support for the two-zone scheme, said: "We are now looking at huge financial consequences for the city and hundreds of people on parking permit waiting lists who will have to carry on waiting."

The plans were to replace the eight zones between the seafront, Viaduct Road in the north, Norfolk Square in the west and Old Steine in the east, with north and south central zones.

The councillors who rejected the scheme are concerned that a reduction to two zones would mean residents in the busiest areas, especially in North Laine and around Brighton station, would be unable to park. They said residents from outlying areas of the zones would drive from their homes and park right in the centre if they were given the opportunity.

Councillor Taylor, who represents the St Peters and North Laine ward, said: "There are about 450 permits for 252 spaces in my ward. If this were to go ahead those residents would be in competition with another 1,700 who would be entitled to park there. It's sheer insanity."

Mrs Mitchell said the proposed changes were intended to enable more people to park close to their homes and to cut waiting lists for residents' permits.

She said the Tory and Lib Dem councillors had been given an earlier opportunity to vote for alternative plans and their decision to leave it to the last minute was intended as a vote-winner in next year's council elections.

Councillor Elgood disputed her allegations.

He said: "It is about time the Labour party started listening to the views of the traders and residents in this city. We have voted for what they want."

Councillors criticised the consultation process used to test whether residents wanted the changes. They said local people were only able to give an opinion on one proposed scheme when they should have had a chance to consider alternatives.

No time-scale has yet been worked out for when new proposals will be brought forward. The environment committee next meets on November 9.

Campaigners who have fought against the proposals were delighted with the decision.

Steve Percy, chairman of the People's Parking Protest, said: "What they need to do is approach taxpayers and ask us what we feel should be done before coming up with their own ideas and trying to force them on us."

l Due to a production error this story did not appear in yesterday's edition of The Argus as planned.