Keswick's Theatre by the Lake is leading the backlash against plans to increase parking charges in the town.
Working alongside the Keswick Retailers Association and Lake District Hotels, they're put together a 4,000-strong petition calling on Allerdale Borough Council to rethink.
The authority is increasing prices by a minimum of 15% whilst also varying parking hours.
The Theatre by the Lake says the changes are "ill-thought out" whilst the Federation for Small Businesses says they'll deter visitors.
Rachel Swift, Head of Marketing, took the petition to the council’s offices in Workington.
“The petition has been signed on line and on paper by a staggering number of people,” said Rachel. “When coupled with the 94 pages of comments that people have left when signing the petition – it’s a very clear sign of the anger people feel about these ill-thought out charges.
“Theatre by the Lake is Keswick’s biggest employer and we have joined with hoteliers and retailers to organise the petition and show the council the damage the charges will do to the local economy. They will hit both local residents and visitors.
“The petition is a strong indication of the strength of feeling in Keswick. We hope it will encourage the Council to reconsider their proposal.”
Cumbria Tourism has described the new charges as “ludicrous” and Keswick Town Councillor Duncan Miller has called them “complicated and unreasonable”.
Gary Lovatt, Regional Chairman for Lancashire and Cumbria for the Federation of Small Businesses has waded into the debate to lend his support to the campaign saying: “Not only will this have a negative impact on locals and regularly attending visitors to the town, this will also have ramifications on new visitors to the region.”