Queenstown's Mayor is brushing off concerns that parking woes are killing business

Former mayoress Lorraine Cooper has blasted the District Council's parking policy -- saying people aren't coming to the town centre following recent street upgrades.

She says it's been turned into a pedestrian mall lacking parks, and the CBD will 'wither and die' if more aren't implemented.

But Mayor Glyn Lewers disagrees.

He says he's only had positive feedback from businesses, and the changes had been in the works for about six years before implementation.

Lewers says it's common to hear that locals don't go into town, but the statistics say otherwise.