Theatregoers should be able to park for free while they go and buy tickets for performances, according to councillors who are pushing for free bays in a pay and display car park.

For several years, The Elgiva Theatre in Chesham has complained that customers wanting to pop in to the box office are forced to pay for an hour’s parking at the district council-run Albany Car Park.

And after calls for a handful of free spaces continued to fall on deaf ears, Chesham Town Council will decide next week whether to throw its weight behind the campaign.

Town councilors will discuss the problem at Tuesday’s Chesham Town Council meeting, and if in agreement, will push the district council for a solution.

Writing in a town council report, town Clerk Bill Richards said: “It has always been this council’s view that the district council should be prepared to offer support for the Elgiva as the only such facility om the district, particularly when not much more than a third of patrons are from Chesham itself.

"It is well documented that customers visiting the Elgiva during the daytime will often buy goods in the town centre so this, in itself, would be a boost for the local economy.”

The report adds that it is a “mistaken assumption” that parking charges are not an issue at the Albany car park, with 53 matinees taking place in the last 12 months during daytime hours when parking charges apply.