“Why if this was a bad idea in the past is it suddenly a good idea now?”
Ian Grutchfield, who runs the Hadleigh Old School venue, said the three hour free parking had been beneficial for customers, and has resigned from the Invest in Hadleigh group in protest.
He said: “It was noted that free car parking is one of the economic advantages that businesses in our town - and Sudbury, Lavenham, East Bergholt, etc have.
“At a time of recession the policy will be destructive and cause harm to lots of my friends in the town, and to sneak the proposal through at Christmas is underhand.”