A TOWN centre retailer is being forced to close her shop during the day to move her car because of parking rules.

Joyce Pollock owns Material Things in Cathcart Street and says by 8am in the morning both car parks there are full.

A two-hour time limit was introduced to prevent people from taking up spaces all day and to allow customers to park, but Joyce says the system is causing problems for businesses.

Joyce said: “There is insufficient all-day parking.

“I don’t have a problem with the idea of paying £1 but when I arrive, it’s already full.

“If I don’t get parked in the two car parks, there is a third overspill car park and if I can’t park in any of those, I have to move my car every two hours.

“I have to close my shop and it can take up to 20 minutes to find another space.”

Joyce has raised her concerns with the council but says she feels that she isn’t getting anywhere.

She said: “The argument is that if I park in the street I am taking a parking space for my customers.

“But if I have to shut my shop, my customers can’t get in anyway.”

The shopkeeper, who lives in Gourock, runs the business with her daughter Lucy and says other retailers on the street are in the same boat as her.

She believes parking permits for retailers, similar to ones issued for residents, could be the way forward.

She said: “I rent my shop from Inverclyde Council but River Clyde Homes is the factor, and residents living up above it have permits.

“I am not a resident but I am a shop owner and I pay rent.”

Joyce says she provides a unique service in Inverclyde and brings valuable trade into the town.

She told the Telegraph: “It’s the only shop of its kind between Glasgow and Ayrshire and it brings people into the town.

“Not everyone wants to buy from big fabric stores.

“A lot of our customers are out of towners.”

A council spokesman said: “There is a variety of parking available in the area, free all-day on-street or £1 a day car parks alongside a three-hour car park and two-hour on-street parking.”